Southern African nations are collaboratively working to align their pharmaceutical regulations through initiatives like ZaZiBoNa, which includes Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, and Tanzania. This regional approach enables resource sharing, joint product reviews, and coordinated Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspections, creating a more unified regulatory environment across participating countries.

The region is progressively adopting serialization requirements for pharmaceutical products, with varying stages of implementation across different countries. Zambia leads with a GS1-based system under development, requiring Global Trade Item Numbers (GTIN), batch numbers, expiry dates, and unique serial numbers encoded in 2D DataMatrix codes. This enables precise product identification and tracking throughout the supply chain.

All pharmaceutical products marketed in Southern African nations must display standardized written information including product name, active ingredients, dosage form, strength, batch number, expiry date, and manufacturer details. These requirements align with SADC guidelines and ensure consistent product labeling across the region, enhancing medication safety and proper usage.

Southern African nations have adopted varied timelines for implementing traceability systems, reflecting differences in regulatory capacity and infrastructure. While Zambia and South Africa have made significant progress, others like Botswana are developing regulatory frameworks and coding standards. Countries including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Tanzania participate in regional initiatives like ZaZiBoNa while building their national systems.