Doctors Without Borders concerned about insulin pen shortages in SA

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The global medical humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders is calling on Danish pharmaceutical corporation Novo Nordisk and other manufacturers of insulin pens to take immediate action to ensure a continuous supply of insulin pens to South Africa.

This comes after the Health Department forecasted supply challenges of insulin pen devices and advised health facilities to ration the distribution of insulin pens across the country.

Campaign Advocacy Advisor at Doctors Without Borders, Candice Sehoma says this shortage is a result of pharmaceutical companies prioritizing profits over saving lives.

“Novo Nordisk which is a previous supplier in SA of these insulin pens and other manufacturers have failed to bid for the tender to supply the National Department of Health with insulin pens and this might have serious implications for people living with diabetes and needing insulin. In fact, this will mean that they will have to switch from using these insulin pens which are user friendly to using vials, and one of the assumed decisions, or why this has been the case is that Novo Nordisk is basically prioritising new medicines, which are indicated for both diabetes and obesity because there’s a much larger market.”

In a major blow to people with diabetes, the NDoH recently issued a statement predicting stock-outs of human insulin pen devices.

Around 4.2 million South Africans are living with #diabetes, and the implications of such a shortage are concerning.

🧵Here’s why: pic.twitter.com/pP8tYwzP3l

— Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Southern Africa (@MSF_southafrica) May 16, 2024