The pharmacy is set to ensure that health officials in the Mthatha Management Area can now adequately provide medication for more than 4000 inmates in prisons in Mthatha and surrounding areas such as Bizana, Lusikisiki, Flagstaff, Mqanduli, Ngqeleni, Mount Ayliff, Mount Fletcher, Elliotdale, Tabankulu and Mount Frere.  

The new pharmacy adheres to all the requirements of the South African Pharmacy Council, as well as Good Pharmacy Practice. It is the result of a public-private partnership between the Department of Correctional Services and TB/HIV Care. The Correctional Services-based pharmacy aims to improve service delivery, enhance access to chronic medicines, raise the quality of care for offenders and optimize scarce resources.

In line with the constitution

I had to wait for more than two weeks for my treatment to arrive, and there are inmates who have lost their lives due to this.

Eric Nweba, who is the area commissioner for Umthatha, says “In line with our constitutional mandate of ensuring safe custodial services consistent with human rights and dignity, the project forms part of our overall efforts to rehabilitate inmates, ensure their successful reintegration into society and reduce recidivism.  We want to fast track the availability of medicines. Nurses can now collect medicine and get to work on time rather than having to go and collect it in East London like they did before. Inmates now also get their prescribed medicine on time.”

Sibongile Mzondi, an inmate at Umthatha Correctional Centre, says regardless of the challenges he faces as a prisoner with a chronic illness he is excited about this project.

“It has been very difficult for me before the pharmacy opened. I had to wait for more than two weeks for my treatment to arrive, and there are inmates who have lost their lives due to this. We are privileged to have this new pharmacy. I believe our lives will be saved,” Mzondi said.

In Mthatha and the surrounding areas there are more than 500 inmates living with HIV/AIDS, over 100 offenders with epilepsy, 160 have high blood pressure, 70 have psychiatric disorders, 47 have tuberculosis and 20 are diabetic Nweba said.