South Africa’s medicines regulator says weight-loss injections have become the single biggest category in its investigations into illicit medicine sales, overtaking longstanding concerns like skin-lightening agents and performance enhancers. In a 21 July 2026 interview with CNBC Africa, Mokgadi Fafudi, head of regulatory compliance at the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), said criminal syndicates are exploiting strong demand for GLP-1 medicines by selling falsified or unregistered products through unauthorised online channels and social media.
What SAHPRA is seeing
Fafudi said GLP-1 injectable medicines are “keeping regulators very, very busy,” with weight-management products now leading the authority’s investigations, public reports and active online monitoring. Sellers operating outside legal distribution channels are reaching consumers directly through digital platforms, with products often delivered straight to buyers’ homes — making the supply chain difficult to trace and even harder to police.
Why cheaper doesn’t mean safer
Because these products have not gone through SAHPRA’s registration and quality review process, consumers have no way of knowing whether what they’re injecting is contaminated, incorrectly dosed, substandard, or something else entirely. Fafudi said adverse reactions to illicit medicines are also harder to investigate, since buyers frequently can’t identify exactly what they took or where it came from — unlike a prescription filled by a licensed pharmacist, where a healthcare professional can monitor response, adjust doses and step in if something goes wrong.
The affordability tension
SAHPRA was candid about the underlying driver: registered GLP-1 medicines carry a high price tag in South Africa, and cash-strapped consumers are drawn to cheaper alternatives sold online, even without knowing what’s actually in them. Fafudi noted that SAHPRA itself does not set medicine prices — that responsibility sits with the National Department of Health’s pricing committee — leaving the regulator to manage the safety consequences of an affordability problem it doesn’t control. Wider economic pressure, limited access to health facilities in some areas, and social-media-driven demand for cosmetic weight loss all add to the pull toward unauthorised sellers.
What SAHPRA is doing about it
- Rolling out a National Action Plan (launched September 2025) against substandard and falsified medical products, coordinating regulators, law enforcement, academia, industry and consumer groups.
- Introducing tighter import permit controls, given how much of South Africa’s medicine supply is imported.
- Deploying track-and-trace technology and AI-assisted detection to identify suspicious products and distribution patterns.
- Building memorandums of understanding with law enforcement agencies, since arrests and prosecutions fall outside SAHPRA’s own mandate.
- Expanding public reporting channels so consumers and healthcare professionals can flag suspicious products.
How readers can protect themselves
- Only obtain GLP-1 medicines (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Saxenda) through a registered doctor’s prescription and a licensed pharmacy.
- Be wary of GLP-1 products sold via social media, unfamiliar websites, or direct-to-home delivery outside a known pharmacy.
- If a deal looks significantly cheaper than the registered price, treat that as a warning sign rather than a bargain.
- Report suspicious sellers or products to SAHPRA rather than simply avoiding them, so the regulator can act on the pattern.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. If you believe you have taken an unregistered or counterfeit medicine and are unwell, seek medical attention immediately.
Sources
- CNBC Africa, 21 July 2026 — “South Africa’s weight-loss drug market under scrutiny” (interview with SAHPRA’s Mokgadi Fafudi, Head of Regulatory Compliance)