Author: Kimberly Mutandiro

Immigrants in Johannesburg who say they are denied health care in clinics have turned to the black market for smuggled medicines. Prescription-grade medicines like antibiotics are now easily accessible on the streets without a script. This could contribute to antimicrobial resistance. The medicines are mostly smuggled into the country from Malawi and, to a lesser extent, Zimbabwe. So there is no oversight by South Africa’s medicines regulator. “It’s barely month-end, and a box full of medicine that I ordered from Malawi two weeks ago is already finished; my business is booming,” says Melina (not her real name). Melina is originally…