Please register under our 'Ikhemisi Eduze Nawe' programme, and get your medication closer to home

Those who've defaulted on their chronic medication must please come back

No one is allowed to judge or criticize you for defaulting!

20 September 2023

KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Ms Nomagugu Simelane has urged all patients who are on chronic medication to register under the Department's groundbreaking "Ikhemisi Eduze Nawe: programme, so as to be able to collect the medication closer to their homes, and avoid queuing up at clinics and hospitals, unnecessarily.

Otherwise known as the Central Chronic Medicines Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD), the Ikhemisi Eduze Nawe ("A Chemist Closer to Your Home") programme enables patients who are registered to collect their medication from independent pharmacies, community halls, local general dealers, churches, traditional courts, through an automated Pill Box system, as well as a bicycle distribution system in certain rural areas.

KZN currently has 928 461 patients who are actively benefitting from Ikhemisi Eduze Nawe.

All patients above the age of 5 years with chronic conditions are eligible to enroll under the programme.

But they must have been clinically stable for a period of at least six months (that is, without having had any relapse, nor experienced side effects, nor needed a change in medication or dosage), and must prove to have been adherent to treatment.

Patients with all chronic medical conditions are eligible to register: from non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, arthritis to those taking Anti-Retroviral Treatment for HIV/AIDS.

The enrolment of TB clients on the programme is still being piloted, especially those on long regimens for drug-resistant TB.

Speaking during a recent "Isibhedlela Kubantu" community outreach programme at Mpembeni (Ward 13) of Umhlathuze Local Municipality, MEC Simelane said: "We have rebranded the CCMDD programme, after noting that it is difficult for our patients to grasp the abbreviation, which can lead to them not even knowing about the programme or taking part in it. We have given it a new name, which is Ikhemisi Eduze Nawe. We urge the public to take advantage of this programme by registering, so that they can enjoy its many rewards. "

"Being part of the programme will ease the burden on many patients who may end up defaulting on their medication because they cannot afford transport money to go our clinics."

We therefore plead with everyone who is on chronic medication to enquire from their local clinic and get registered," MEC Simelane said.

Meanwhile, the MEC has also urged those who've stopped taking their chronic medication to visit their local clinic and ask to be re-instated on the programme.

"It has come to my attention that those who default on medication, for various reasons, when they want to go back, they become hesitant because they know some healthcare workers will admonish them. That is wrong, because our job as healthcare workers is to ensure access to healthcare services, so that our fellow compatriots can have optimal health."

"No-one has a right to shout at you, just because you want to receive treatment. If anyone does that, you must report them, as per our established complaints management mechanism."

Accreditation of community-based pick-up points under the Ikhemisi Eduze Nawe programme depends on the following criteria:

• Accessibility of the site to patients;
• Having infrastructure that meets the minimum standards of good pharmacy practice for storage of medicines, such as security, availability of lockable lockers for the storage of medicines.
• The facility must be a solid brick structure, with electricity.
• There must be sufficient network coverage to ensure that there is ease of transfer of data, to track parcel delivery and collection. This also assists in monitoring adherence of patients to treatment.
• The owner of the premises must be SARS-compliant, and must meet the minimum requirements to be registered on the supply chain management data base.
• There must always be someone who is available at the site to manage parcel collection and issuing from 08h00 to 16h00 every day, from Monday to Friday.

The Ikhemisi Eduze Nawe/CCMDD hotline number for KZN is 0800 212 350.

Isused by KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health