04 Mar SAHPRA Trains Mpumalanga healthcare workers to improve medicine and vaccine safety reporting through electronic reporting tools
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) recently hosted a two-day workshop in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, from 24 to 25 February 2026. This event brought together healthcare workers from across the province, providing them with practical, hands-on training in medicine and vaccine safety reporting. The initiative aimed to strengthen the capacity of healthcare workers with regard to electronic reporting of adverse events, including adverse events following immunisation, using the VigiMobile and VigiFlow system. Electronic submission of reports will ensure real-time submission of reports and more effective monitoring and management of medicine and vaccine safety in the region. By improving reporting practices, SAHPRA aims to enhance the country’s capacity to monitor the safety of medicines and vaccines, thereby protecting patients.
SAHPRA Medicine Registration Officers facilitated sessions that guided participants through discussions and hands-on exercises aimed at improving the collection and reporting of safety information for medicines and vaccines. Healthcare workers were introduced to VigiMobile, a web-based application designed for reporting adverse events, and a demonstration helped them become comfortable with its interface.
Simo Tafana, a SAHPRA Medicine Registration Officer, highlighted the importance of building capacity among frontline healthcare workers and, even more critically, educating the public about the safety of medicines and vaccines.
“Through this workshop on pharmacovigilance reporting, skills for healthcare professionals were enhanced and, using VigiMobile and VigiFlow tools, will make their work efficient,” he said.
Healthcare workers welcomed the training session as a positive step in the right direction, noting that it will help strengthen patient safety through the use of technological advancements.
“We are much more confident to report all adverse events now. We used to report mild or moderate side effects, but now we are much more confident to report all side effects and adverse events to SAHPRA so that SAHPRA can continue with the surveillance of vaccines and medicines in general,” explains Sphiwokuhle Mkhonza, Clinical Programme Manager at Amajuba Memorial Hospital.
The workshop has contributed towards building a resilient pharmacovigilance system in the province. SAHPRA is confident that patient safety will be prioritised and data quality improved because of this intervention.