Medicine South Africans cannot afford costs the same as cigarettes in India, where laws are much more flexible.
Medicine South Africans cannot afford costs the same as cigarettes in India, where laws are much more flexible. “So it’s the cost of cigarettes now, it’s 7 000 rupees. When it comes to different countries, everyone has their own regulations. I don’t want to get into that, but what I’ve seen in SA, a lot of medication isn’t available.”
The head of the Cancer Alliance’s Access Campaign, Salome Meyer, says after years of struggling, there is still no movement in the access to Lenalidomide. She says she was astonished when she hears about the price of Lenalidomide in India. “Many medicines are accessible through Section 21. It provides access to generic products that aren’t registered in South Africa, via imports. But when the product is registered in the country, section 21 expires, and that’s when that medicine becomes so expensive. I’ve even heard about plans to register other medications for the treatment of Myeloma cancer in the same way as Lenalidomide.”