03 Aug 2026

Ministry of Health is working toward an end-to-end digital health system that will enable real-time monitoring of medicine availability and provide electronic medical records as part of efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery across the country.

Minister of Health, Dr Stephen Modise, revealed this during a tour of health facilities in Maun, where he assessed the availability and monitored movement of medical commodities from Central Medical Stores (CMS), through district warehouses to health facilities.

He said the digital system would improve visibility across the entire medicine supply chain, enabling the ministry to quickly identify shortages, strengthen accountability and ensure medical commodities reach intended beneficiaries.

“We want end-to-end visibility so that we know where medicines are at every stage of the supply chain and where intervention is needed,” he said.

Dr Modise said the system would also eliminate reliance on paper-based patient records by introducing electronic medical records that would be accessed by all health facilities, improving continuity of care and service delivery.

He said the visit formed part of the ministry’s nationwide assessment of medicine distribution to establish whether medical supplies dispatched from the Central Medical Stores (CMC) were reaching health facilities as intended.

The minister noted encouraging improvements in the availability of medicines for non-communicable diseases, particularly hypertension and diabetes, as well as commonly used pain medication.

However, he said shortage remain in some specialised medicines, particularly paediatric and mental health medicines, requiring urgent intervention.

Dr Modise further revealed that additional donated medical supplies were expected to arrive in the country shortly, including 14 containers from Durban and a 7.8-tonnes consignment arriving by rail, a development expected to further improve medicine availability.

He also encouraged health workers to communicate openly with the public regarding the availability of medicines to help manage expectations and strengthen public confidence in the health system.

Meanwhile, North West District Council Deputy Secretary for Primary Health Services, Dr Sandra Maripe, said medicine availability in clinics has improved following the arrival of recent consignments.

She said medicines for hypertension and diabetes, which had previously been in short supply, were received in the past two weeks.

Dr Maripe further welcomes government’s plans to recruit 300 nurses nationally, saying the initiative would help address staffing shortages affecting healthcare delivery.

Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital Superintendent, Dr Lebogang Mokotedi said medicine availability currently stood at 48 per cent, with an order fill rate of 10 per cent.

She said the hospital recently received medicines that had been unavailable for a considerable period, describing it as a significant improvement toward restoring healthcare services.

Dr Mokotedi added that the Minister’s visit assisted in identifying critical gaps that require immediate attention, a development she said would strengthen service delivery in the district. ENDS