An evaluation of postmarketing reports of hyperglycaemia associated with dolutegravir for treatment of HIV in Eswatini.

Background: Dolutegravir (DTG) is an Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitor (INSTI) indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV infection. It is available in a number of pharmaceutical preparations including the fixed-dose combination (TLD) containing tenofovir (300 mg) + lamivudine (300 mg) + dolutegravir (50 mg). In 2018, Eswatini adopted TLD as the preferred first-line HIV treatment regimen for adults and adolescents as per WHO recommendations.

Health supply chain system in Uganda: assessment of status and of performance of health facilities.

Background: Health supply chain systems are essential for effective and efficient healthcare system by ensuring availability of quality essential medicines and health supplies. While several interventions have been made to ensure the availability of quality essential medicines and health supplies, health facilities continue to report stockouts in Uganda.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the status and performance of the supply chain system across all levels of care in health facilities in Uganda.

Article 4: Impact assessment of supervision performance assessment and recognition strategy (SPARS) to improve supply chain management in health facilities in Uganda: a national pre and post study.

Background: To strengthen medicines management capacity, including supply chain management, at public sector health facilities in Uganda, the Ministry of Health introduced a multipronged supervision, performance assessment, and recognition strategy (SPARS). The aim of this study was to assess the impact of SPARS on improving supply chain management. A series of four papers on SPARS described the SPARS concept, its impact on overall and domain practices and appropriate medicines use, and now in the fourth paper describing the effect on supply chain management.

Article 1: Supervision, Performance Assessment, and Recognition Strategy (SPARS) - a multipronged intervention strategy for strengthening medicines management in Uganda: method presentation and facility performance at baseline.

Background: Uganda introduced a multipronged intervention, the supervision, performance assessment, and recognition strategy (SPARS), to improve medicines management (MM) in public and not-for-profit health facilities. This paper, the first in a series, describes the SPARS intervention and reports on the MM situation in Uganda before SPARS (baseline).

Methods: To build MM capacity at health facilities, health workers were trained as MM supervisors to visit health facilities, assess MM performance, and use the findings to provide support and standardize MM practices.