DA slams Military Command Council over Cuban COVID-19 drug
Written by defenceWeb -
Kobus Marais.
The “arrogant attitude” adopted by the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), particularly its top decision-making body the Military Command Council (MCC), regarding acquisition of a Cuban drug was today (Friday, 29 January) slammed by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The party, in the form of its shadow defence and military veterans minister Kobus Marais, wants Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to account for what appears to be the illegal procurement of Interferon Alpha-2B and its cost. The drug is apparently intended for use only by soldiers and others in the SANDF to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
The recent decision of the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to allow for the dispensing of ivermectin, an anti-parasitic medication authorised for veterinary use, is a study in the law of unintended consequences. These consequences stem from misdirected lobbying for ivermectin’s use in patients with Covid-19 intersecting with the serialised weak governance that we have all become quite accustomed to.
The management of SAHPRA largely comprises some of our finest scientific and medicines regulation policy experts, who practice a vital and, for the most part, globally recognised regulatory function. Given its vital role in ensuring the safety and efficacy of medicines in the country, we can all take comfort from its imprimatur on the medicines we consume. That is as it should be and it is to the credit of those in its management, from the board to the executive, that they enjoy the confidence of the country in this task, despite the well-known constraints of inadequat
Ivermectin approved for use in selected Covid-19 cases: Q&A
Ivermectin has been approved for use in treating Covid-19 in South Africa on a limited basis. This follows an urgent court application by lobby group AfriForum to force the regulatory authority to allow the use of the drug most commonly used for treating parasites in animals in the country for human use. First, you will hear Professor Helen Rees, chair of the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) board, explain why the regulator cannot give full registration to the drug for human use in relation to Covid-19. SAHPRA CEO Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela sets out more detail on how access to the drug will work and next steps as a university works on approval for a human trial on the use of Ivermectin to treat Covid-19. They were speaking to journalists at the Pretoria Press Club. – Jackie Cameron
Treatment of drug-resistant TB in South Africa has been transformed over the past decade.
Most people with the illness no longer have to have daily injections, and treatment is often completed in nine months, compared with 18 to 24 months in the past.
Perhaps most important is that fewer people are dying of drug-resistant TB, and there is less hearing loss, a common side effect of the injections used in the past.
Key to this transformation in our public sector has been the roll-out of the antibiotics, bedaquiline and linezolid.
These two drugs, plus another two, in some cases even four or five, make up drug-resistant TB treatment today.