SADC’s medical paradox

Lahja Nashuuta

SADC faces a health procurement paradox.

While governments across the region are spending billions of dollars on medicines and medical supplies, shelves at hospitals and clinics still experience shortages of essential drugs and supplies needed to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases.

Health experts say the solution has already been identified: a regional pooled procurement system that would allow SADC countries to combine their purchasing power, negotiate better prices and strengthen medicine security.

However, almost a decade after the initiative was approved, implementation remains painfully slow.

The delay in operationalising the SADC Pooled Procurement Services for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies (SPPS) has raised concerns among health professionals and policymakers, who argue that countries are losing an opportunity to save money, improve efficiency and ensure reliable access to medicines.