The National Department of Health (NDoH) was aware of the shortages of biocides, hand sanitizer and hibiscus (hibiscrub) hand soap in the facilities across the Eastern Cape.
a) There are interventions that the NDoH implements to ensure that there are no supply shortages at facilities. These interventions are informed by the cause of the supply challenge.
b) Health facilities in the Eastern Cape place their orders with the depot on a weekly basis, and the depot processes these orders efficiently with a lead time of a week.
In most cases including the recently reported case, the medicines supply challenges are transient in that an item may be reported as out of stock and soon after the item is back on stock.
Currently, there are no the shortages of biocides, hand sanitizers and hibiscus hand soap in health facilities across the Eastern Cape. The table below shows the current availability of the items in the Eastern Cape health facilities including the depots:
Item Description |
Quantity on stock |
Stock Provision in Months |
Hibiscus (Hibiscrub) Hand Soap 500ml |
6 826 |
2.5 months’ supply |
Hand sanitizer without emollient 500ml |
8 590 |
4 months’ supply |
Biocide 100s |
6 060 |
2 months’ supply |
Table 1. Stock on hand of selected items as at 12 February 2024
END.