MzansiMed: Healthcare information that meets people where they are.
Across South Africa, patients navigate complex treatment regimens in languages that aren’t their own. MzansiMed bridges this gap by ensuring patients receive medicine instructions in a language that feels familiar and accessible. The platform enhances understanding, strengthens adherence, and supports more meaningful interactions between pharmacists and the communities they serve.
WHAT WE DO
Medicine instructions, translated instantly and delivered directly.
MzansiMed allows pharmacists to enter standard instructions and generate translated versions in seconds. The system could produce print-ready labels in the patient’s home language and will allow for the same medicine instructions to be sent directly to their mobile phone, ensuring continuous access long after they leave the facility.
Developed through collaboration with pharmacists, linguists, technologists, and community members, MzansiMed enhances communication and supports safer, more informed medicine use for patients across linguistic backgrounds.
Gogo's Story
A clearer path to safe medicine use.
Meet Gogo Nosipho, a grandmother in Khayelitsha living with diabetes and high blood pressure. Her medicines often come with English-only labels she cannot fully interpret. She guesses the times. She halves doses to “make them last.” She sometimes avoids tablets because she worries she may be taking the wrong ones. Her conditions worsen; not because the medication is ineffective, but because the instructions are inaccessible.
Now imagine the same Gogo receiving:
• A medicine label printed in isiXhosa
• Clear, simple instructions she understands immediately
• The same message sent to her mobile phone, available whenever she needs it
• A pharmacy experience in which she feels visible, supported, and empowered
MzansiMed makes this possible, offering clarity that protects her health and restores her confidence. Gogo is not alone; she represents millions who stand to benefit from clearer, more accessible healthcare communication.
WHO WE ARE
Built through interdisciplinary collaboration. Rooted in South Africa’s linguistic and healthcare realities.
MzansiMed is led by the University of the Western Cape’s School of Pharmacy, in partnership with Stellenbosch University’s Department of Computer Science and UWC’s Linguistics Department.
Together, the team brings expertise in clinical pharmacy, language science, natural language processing and human-centred design.
This collaboration ensures that MzansiMed is more than a translation tool; it is a carefully developed platform informed by the daily realities of patients and healthcare providers. The focus is on reliability, contextual fit, and respectful engagement with South Africa’s linguistic diversity.
PARTNERSHIP
UWC School of Pharmacy
Stellenbosch University
(Dept of Computer Science)
UWC Linguistics Department
UWC Future
(Innovation lab - Samsung)
