Public asked not to “worry” about ARV shortages

The provincial health department blames the supplier.

The people of Mpumalanga have been asked not to “worry” while officials are attending to the issue of the ARV shortages.

Provincial health department spokesman Dumisani Malamule confirmed on Tuesday this week that indeed Mpumalanga is “experiencing challenges” but were busy attending to the matter.

“It’s true that in Mpumalanga we have a shortage of ARVs but it is level 2 and level 3 that we are experiencing challenges on. The level 1 which are the normal ARVs that people who are HIV positive take we’ve got enough stock.

“But where we are experiencing challenges is level 2 and level 3 which are given to patients who are not responding well on the normal level 1 ARVs,” Malamule said over the phone.

He said they blame the service provider who will “deliver these medications late or deliver stock that is not enough”.

“But because we have patients that we are serving we have therefore decided that we will order out of the contract we have with the service provider and fetch the stock ourselves and make sure we have enough in our facilities and that is the intervention that we have done.

“The head of department has already signed the request to procure out of the contract because we cannot continue like that with the service provider while our patients are suffering,” Malamule said.

The Stop Stockouts Project organisation this week raised the alarm and reported that since the past two months there has been a nationwide crisis of ARV shortages at healthcare facilities.

It said it has been speaking to the department of health about the issuebut there is no plan to address the shortages – only a way to identify and report the shortages. 

“If there is indeed no budget as indicated by national department of health, we need to get to the bottom of why this is the case and what will be done about it,” the organisation’s acting manager Lauren Jankelowitz said.

“A robust supply chain and uninterrupted access to medication is crucial in ending HIV. Stockouts of ARVs interrupt treatment, increasing the risk of opportunistic infections, treatment failure, ARV drug resistance and ultimately death,” she said.

She added that we need to call on all parties – government suppliers and healthcare workers – to work together to resolve this disaster and are considering asking countries with surplus supply to help fill the gap temporarily, while we wait for South Africa’s suppliers.

National spokesman Popo Maja said in the event of a total stockout an alternative will be provided.

“Stock may be sourced from another facility or patient referred to another clinic,” Maja said.

Patients should call 0809116472 if they experience difficulty.

(edited by MLM)

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