In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, it was essential for South Africa to ensure its health system was up to the challenge. One of the most important components the country put into action was an enhanced demand planning process. The South African National Department of Health (NDoH), with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Global Health Supply Chain Program – Technical Assistance (GHSC-TA), undertook the task of forecasting the country’s medicine requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic.