Introduction
‘Transformation’ has been a central feature of
South African society since the Nationalist government
announced the unbanning of liberation movements
and the release of their leaders in January
1989. Since the 1994 democratic elections the health
sector has been one of the primary areas targeted
for transformation. Post-1994 governments have
sought to redress the substantial inequalities in
health-care provision established along racial lines
under colonial administration and maintained by
consecutive Apartheid-era governments. While
these health-related structural inequities were, and
remain, most marked in respect of access to medical
insurance and the provision of primary health care and hospital facilities (Cullinan, 2006), they are also
reflected in the demographic distribution of community
pharmacies across South Africa. As elsewhere,
South African community pharmacies are
concentrated in urban areas. What is more unusual
is their concentration in previously White-dominated
commercial centres and residential areas
(Constitutional Court of South Africa (CCSA),
2005; Gilbert, 2004a; Thom, 2004a). The demographics,
then, of South African pharmacy provide
one of the most visible challenges to its ability to
respond to the calls for transformation from a
‘business as usual’ approach towards a primary
health care model (CCSA, 2005; Gilbert, 2004a,
2004b).