How SA regulates medicines and vaccines
COVID-19 has raised public awareness about the role of national medicines regulatory authorities in enabling access to safe, effective and quality-assured medicines. This includes vaccines.
In South Africa, the pandemic has also exposed several important mis-perceptions, among the public and health professionals.
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) is responsible for monitoring, evaluating, investigating, inspecting and registering all health products. These include medicines for human and animal use, medical devices and diagnostic tests.
The authority is an independent structure, located outside the Department of Health and the public service. Funded by a combination of user