South Africa's public health sector struggling with shortages of 80 drugs

South Africa is experiencing a shortage of over 80 different drugs in its public health sector, including flu vaccinations and medication for tuberculosis and high blood pressure, reports the Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency. The severity of shortages varies from province to province and hospital to hospital, depending on the leadership and skills levels of management.

Experts blame the shortage on a number of factors, including a lack of trained pharmacists, an ineffective tendering process and the inability of some pharmaceutical companies to deliver drugs.

South Africa has about 9,000 working pharmacists, although 10,824 names appear on the register of pharmaceutical practitioners, according to Andy Gray, a senior lecturer in therapeutics and medicines management at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Only 1,746 are working in the public sector, the IPS noted.