No medications can be sold or prescribed in South Africa without the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority’s (SAHPRA) approval. Anti-dementia medications are available in South Africa, for example:

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors:

1. Donepezil (Aricept)
2. Rivastigmine (Exelon)
3. Galantamine (Reminyl)
4. Memantine (Ebixa)

Anti-depressants:

1. Citalopram
2. Sertraline
3. Mirtazapine
4. Agomelatine
5. Escitalopram
6. Venlafaxine

These medications are prescribed as treatment guidelines by the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) (Emsley et al., 2013) that primarily guides the private sector in psychiatric practice. It is unclear to what extent these are adopted by the public sector, especially considering the health care system’s challenges in maintaining medicinal stocks and supplies at health care facilities.

Anti-dementia medications are expensive and not all medical insurance schemes will pay for these (Truter, 2013). Dementia is not listed as a chronic condition and, therefore, do not cover full costs of anti-dementia drugs as chronic medication.

References:

Emsley, R., Seedat, S., & Van Staden, W. (2013). South African Journal of Psychiatry PART 2 The South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) Treatment Guidelines for Psychiatric Disorders Head of Publishing The South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) Treatment Guidelines. South African Journal of Family Practice, 19(No. 3), 196. https://doi.org/DOI:10.7196/SAJP.474

Truter, I. (2013). Antipsychotic drug prescribing to patients with dementia in a South African patient population. African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 7(41), 2755–2762. https://doi.org/10.5897/ajpp2013.3893