South Africa has vowed to crack down on all cross-border pharmaceutical drug smuggling operations.
The horrific bus tragedy that claimed 43 lives exposed a brazen cross-border drug smuggling operation that has South African authorities in an uproar.
The grim discovery of stolen anti-retroviral medication among the wreckage has prompted a top-level government investigation and stern warnings from the highest office in the land. The bus, which was travelling from Gqeberha to Harare, met its fate last Sunday when it careened off a mountain pass in Limpopo.
In the aftermath, officials were stunned to find buckets of ARV drugs and other prescription medication” scattered at the crash site with no accompanying paperwork. Speaking on the matter, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni expressed the government’s profound disappointment. She revealed,
“A full-scale investigation has been launched, and law enforcement agencies are also treating this accident as a potential case of pharmaceutical smuggling.”
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The Minister did not mince words about the wider consequences, stating,
“The theft of ARVs also undermines the fight for an HIV-free region because people who are using that medication… are going to create resistance thus continuing a problem for the fight against HIV.”
South Africa Cracks Down On Cross-Border Pharmaceutical Drug Smuggling
The incident has ignited fresh tensions regarding the access of foreign nationals to South Africa’s public health facilities. Minister Ntshavheni issued a direct plea, saying,
“Cabinet calls on all foreign nationals to be well-mannered guests in South Africa.”
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She reminded everyone of the recent efforts to stop the “unsavoury treatment meted out against foreign nationals at local clinics,” but warned that such criminality makes the situation worse. She lamented,
“Unfortunately, the proof that confirms the brazen theft from government clinics does not assist efforts to restore conditions for foreign nationals to access public health care in South Africa.”
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The post South Africa Cracks Down On Cross-Border Pharmaceutical Drug Smuggling appeared first on iHarare News.
