Months of medicine shortages threaten health of state patients

The 70-year-old mother of Windhoek resident Caillin Basson has gone without vital blood pressure medication for several months because Windhoek state hospitals have reportedly had no stock since February.

Basson has made the trip to Windhoek Central Hospital's pharmacy every week, hoping the medicine had arrived. Each week, she left with the same answer: still no stock.

Basson has since written an open letter to the Ministry of Health and Social Services, warning that medicine shortages are quietly pushing vulnerable Namibians deeper into illness, debt and despair.

But her story is far from isolated.

Patients and families who spoke to Namibian Sun this week say they are being forced to travel from one clinic or hospital to another in a desperate search for chronic medication vital to their health.

From chronic medication and mental health treatment to emergency snakebite antivenom, shortages are exposing cracks in the country's medicine supply chain – while ordinary Namibians bear the burden.

In her four-page open letter dated 10 May, Basson praised the ministry for visible improvements at public hospitals, including renovated wards, upgraded emergency units and improved ambulance response services.

She recounted how her late father received surgery, radiation and chemotherapy through the public healthcare system after being diagnosed with grade four gliosarcoma in 2024. 

“That is something I will never forget,” she wrote. “It showed me what a functioning public health system can mean for an ordinary Namibian family.” 

Yet while acknowledging the progress, Basson warned that infrastructure upgrades mean little when patients cannot access the medication they need to survive.

“Since February 2026, my mother has been unable to receive all the medication she needs because there has been no stock,” she wrote. 

Basson said her mother, who has diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, has since experienced migraines and a decline in her health.

“The absence of basic chronic medication can push stable patients into hospital beds that could have been kept free through prevention,” she pointed out.

Red tape amid health crisis

What frustrated Basson most was not only the shortage itself but also the red tape and bureaucracy surrounding attempts to find alternatives.

When she asked whether she could buy the medication privately, she was told she first needed authorisation from a state doctor.

However, after approaching a doctor at Windhoek Central Hospital, she was allegedly referred elsewhere to obtain the required paperwork.

“I must ask: why should a patient who has already been without essential medication for months be sent from one facility to another simply to obtain permission to buy medicine privately?” she asked. 

“This type of bureaucracy does not make sense in a crisis.” 

Basson urged the ministry to improve communication around shortages and establish emergency procedures allowing patients to obtain private medication authorisation on the same day and at the same facility when state stock runs out.

No mental health medicine

In northern Namibia, a similar crisis is unfolding.

Patients have raised concerns over shortages of vital psychiatric medication at Oshakati and Engela state hospitals, where medicines including haloperidol 2.5 mg tablets, Akineton 2 mg tablets and thiamine hydrochloride 30 mg are reportedly out of stock.

A pensioner, who spoke to Namibian Sun on Tuesday on condition of anonymity, described travelling to multiple towns in a fruitless search for medication for her 48-year-old son, who has been on treatment since 2006.

“First I passed the clinic at Ongenga; they didn’t have any medicine. Then I went to Engela. I came back empty-handed. On Saturday I went to Oshakati; they didn’t have it," she said.

Eventually, she was forced to borrow N$420 from the driver who had taken her to Oshakati to buy the medication privately.

For her, the crisis carries a heavy toll.

“This is very hurtful because even myself, my high blood pressure medication runs out, and I end up getting it from the [private] pharmacies. It’s hurting us," she said.

"We were told not to pay for medicine. Now we are paying,” she added.

She said the toll of travelling from facility to facility in a hopeless search for medication – only to return empty-handed – places a steep financial and emotional burden on already struggling families.

“We don’t have a choice. They must look at it better. Because having a mental patient on medication is way more helpful than them missing their medicine. They run the risk of getting worse or relapsing,” she said.

‘Emergencies do not wait for paperwork’

The medicine shortage crisis is also affecting emergency care.

Snakebite expert Francois Theart recently warned that Namibia is facing another severe antivenom shortage after expected stock deliveries were delayed from March to June.

“The current state of antivenom supply in Namibia is absolutely unacceptable,” Theart wrote in a Facebook post.

“Hospitals and veterinary clinics across the country have been waiting for more than two months for resupply. This is not just an inconvenience; this is a serious public health issue.”

Theart criticised authorities for relying heavily on South African producers, which he said have repeatedly struggled to meet regional demand.

“We constantly warn the relevant stakeholders about this exact scenario,” he wrote.

“The bureaucracy, delays and red tape surrounding antivenom procurement need to be cut immediately before lives are lost because of administrative incompetence and poor planning," he urged.

“Snakebite emergencies do not wait for paperwork. People’s lives do not pause because of supply chain failures.”

Ministry acknowledges crisis

The health ministry has acknowledged strain on its central medicine supplies.

Ministry spokesperson Walters Kamaya said procurement processes are conducted proactively based on consumption trends, existing stock and projected needs.

“The ministry acknowledges the pressures on stock levels at the Central Medical Stores and continues to prioritise the availability of essential medicines,” Kamaya said.

He said measures are being implemented to strengthen forecasting systems, improve stock monitoring and introduce longer-term procurement arrangements through open international bidding.

However, the ministry did not specify how long the mental health medication shortages have lasted or when affected hospitals can expect new stock.

Kamaya also confirmed that the Windhoek Central and Onandjokwe hospitals have communicated their shortages but could not say when the shortages began.

He said the ministry had not received any communication from Oshakati and Engela facilities, but noted that Onandjokwe had reported a shortage of anaesthesia.