By Musa Mdluli

MBABANE:Mduduzi Matsebula, the Minister of Health has recalled the “Yazi Plus pregnancy prevention contraceptive pills” as per a decision communicated by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority(SAHPRA).

The eSwatini Minister communicated the recall through a press statement released on Friday afternoon.

“This product is manufactured by Bayer, a German pharmaceutical company, who have said that this recall has been instituted because “of a limited number of packs found in retail pharmacies with a mix-up of the sequence of hormone-containing and hormone-free tablets, wherein some packs had 24 light orange hormone-free, and four pink film-coated hormone tablets instead of 24 pink film-coated hormone tablets and four light orange hormone-free tablets”, reads the statement in part, released by the Minister on Friday.

On another note,the British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC) reported on Thursday that,the recall was communicated by the South African Regulators upon discovery that, women might get pregnant despite using this product.

“Regulators in South Africa have recalled a batch of the popular Yaz Plus contraceptive pill, after a packaging mix-up which means the contraception could be potentially ineffective.Manufacturer Bayer Ltd said women using pills from the affected batch should stop immediately and seek medical advice.A packaging mix-up led to a number of blister packs carrying 24 inactive pills, instead of 24 hormone-containing active pills.The issue affected only a limited number of packets in a specific batch labelled WEW96J, expiring in March 2026”, the BBC reported.

The recalled product is used to prevent pregnancy and, the medication may also be used to treat premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) or moderate acne for those who have chosen to use birth control pills as a preferred method of pregnancy prevention”, the BBC reported.