Pretoria: The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has urged citizens to report any suspected side effects they may experience from medications, vaccines, or medical devices, to enhance drug safety for all.

According to South African Government News Agency, while medicines significantly aid in treating illnesses and managing conditions, SAHPRA acknowledges the possibility of side effects. The local drug watchdog emphasized that the risks associated with such adverse effects can be significantly reduced by adhering to prescribed guidelines and seeking professional medical advice.

SAHPRA, along with over 90 global medicine and health product regulators and healthcare organizations, is participating in the annual MedSafety Week awareness campaign, occurring between 04 and 10 November 2024. This year’s theme spotlights the necessity of proper medicine usage to prevent and report side effects.

The initiative is led by the Uppsala Monitoring Centre under the World Health Organisation (WHO)
Programme for International Drug Monitoring. The program aims to monitor adverse effects of medicines and vaccines, reduce risks to patients, and establish global pharmacovigilance standards.

SAHPRA CEO, Dr. Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, underscored the importance of proper medication handling and adherence to healthcare professionals’ instructions to minimize adverse reactions. “Research shows that about half of all side effects are preventable. Patient safety is our top priority, and during MedSafety Week, we wish to remind patients to take their medicines as instructed and healthcare professionals to review therapies as well as each patient’s unique health conditions before prescribing or dispensing medicines,” said Semete-Makokotlela.

SAHPRA has called on the South African public and healthcare professionals to utilize the MedSafety app or the eReporting portal, accessible on SAHPRA’s website, for reporting suspected side effects from health products. All reports are assessed to determine necessary meas
ures to protect medicine users in South Africa.

The purpose of these reports is to enhance understanding of known side effects and identify new ones, potentially leading to updated warnings and usage guidelines for medicines. The SAHPRA MedSafety app and eReporting portal facilitate the reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions from medicines, vaccines, herbal products, biological medicines, and any quality issues related to health products.