South African pharmacists have joined an international humanitarian effort to deliver life-saving medicines to Gaza and parts of Africa affected by crisis and displacement, amid evidence that “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease” are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths, according to the UN.
The Independent Community Pharmacy Association of South Africa (Ipca) – an NPO that represents about 1 200 independently owned community pharmacies – said it was part of the Medicines to Africa and Gaza campaign, initiated by Pharmacists Without Borders and supported by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) as part of its HumanityRx programme.
The initiative has gained momentum, with 12 countries – South Africa, Egypt, Jordan, Malaysia, Lebanon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Nigeria – already joining the campaign through formal agreements signed at a recent FIP Congress in Cape Town.
Dr Sham Moodley, Ipca director and chairperson of the Medicines to Africa Chapter, said being part of the campaign showed “a united effort by South Africa’s pharmacies and pharmaceutical sector to send vital medical supplies to those in desperate need”, and appealed to South Africans to donate to the campaign.
“We are pharmacists. We are caregivers. We are healers. We cannot stand by while so many suffer. This campaign is our commitment to humanity – to send not just medicines but hope and solidarity,” Moodley said.
The campaign provides multiple ways for individuals, businesses and organisations to contribute:
• Financial donations towards the purchase of high-priority medicines and medical supplies;
• Partnerships with NGOs, logistics providers and healthcare professionals; and
• Awareness-raising efforts in communities to rally support.
Medicines to Africa said as the crisis deepened, “the number of casualties needing much more specialist medication increases”.
“Regular medicines, too, are in perilously short supply. Emergency hospitals treating the casualties need medicines found in infusion bags or specialist medicated wound dressings; some items must be maintained and transported at specific temperatures or under particular conditions.
“Those who treat patients must be confident that the medicines they are using are of the required quality and have arrived through the proper channels. They need to know they are safe to use on patients who need them the most.”
Medicines to Africa said pharmacist volunteers are using their expertise to source supplies and arrange logistics.
“Donations will be pooled with those from other countries and used to purchase the required medicines centrally from the most appropriate suppliers and to deliver them safely and directly to where they are needed.”
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