South Africa Expands HIV, TB Drug Access by Using Pharmacists

  • High court approves plan to allow pharmacists to prescribe
  • South Africa has largest number of people infected with HIV

Various drugs for tubercolosis in a pharmacy in Edenvale, South Africa. 

Photographer: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

South African pharmacists will be able to prescribe drugs for the country’s two most deadly infectious diseases, HIV and tuberculosis, as the nation at the foot of the continent tries to better manage both epidemics.

The plan, which recently got approval from a high court, will allow chemists that are registered with the initiative to treat patients. Until now, only doctors have been able to do that.