The South African Pharmacy Council on July 14 said it was “distraught and disappointed” at the looting sprees that have targeted pharmacies, among other establishments, in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
As at Wednesday, the council has received reports from pharmacists and pharmacy associations that, in both provinces, more than 90 pharmacies have been destroyed and looted beyond revival, with KwaZulu-Natal being the hardest hit.
Among the looted items are Covid-19 vaccines and scheduled medicines, which when used without proper pharmacist counselling on storage and dosage may result in harm to one’s health.
As such, the council has urged those who looted these medicines and health products to not use them or give them to other persons but rather return them to their nearest pharmacy for proper disposal.
Members of the public were also cautioned to only source medicines from legitimate health establishments, such as pharmacies.
“We are worried at the loss of pharmaceutical care that the affected areas will experience as a result of the temporary and, in most cases, prolonged closures of pharmacies as most of the pharmacies that are affected are independently owned,” said South African Pharmacy Council registrar and CEO Vincent Tlala.
He also lamented the possible loss of employment and livelihoods for pharmacists and support personnel employed by the affected pharmacies.
“We call on South Africans to refrain from destroying healthcare infrastructure or disrupting health care services for any reason. Such actions reverse the difficult gains we have made in increasing the accessibility of healthcare services to previously underserved communities in our country,” he urged, adding that “it also puts the lives of citizens in these communities at risk”.