Fuel prices, load shedding, overpopulation drive up medicine costs

Transparency in logistics and other reforms are needed

- Fentse Maseko

In South Africa, the price of survival is rising. As fuel prices soar, load shedding persists and urban populations swell, the cost of essential medicines is quietly climbing, threatening the accessibility of health-care for millions of citizens.

While these issues may seem disconnected, their convergence is creating a perfect storm in the pharmaceutical supply chain, particularly in Gauteng, the country’s economic and health-care nerve centre.

Every tablet, vial and bottle of medicine travels a long road before reaching a patient. That road is paved with petrol costs, which keep on rising.

Rising fuel prices have a direct impact on the cost of transporting medicines from manufacturers to wholesalers, and from pharmacies to clinics.

In a country where logistics already account for a significant portion of the final medicine price, any increase in fuel costs reverberates through the entire supply chain, eventually hitting the end-user in their pocket.

For patients in rural and peri-urban areas, the impact is even more severe.

Transport costs to access healthcare facilities are rising, making it harder for low-income households to collect chronic medication or seek timely treatment.

The result?