Please find attached soundbite by Michele Clarke MP.
The DA has submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to the Department of Health to access all reports, including internal reports, that track medicine stock levels between April 2026 and October 2026.
This follows news reports revealing that new shortages are compounding existing problems, putting the Department on the back foot and creating risks for patients.
The DA will also submit parliamentary questions regarding the stock-outs and the provinces’ outstanding debt.
Currently up-to 50 critical medicines are out of stock, and patients whose health and wellbeing depends on state medicine have no way to access their pills.
The medication stock-outs plaguing South Africa have a detrimental impact on patients’ health and strain the operational capacity of health facilities.
We believe the PAIA application will provide crucial insight into the medication stock-out crisis that has been plaguing the country for months.