Quality of antiretroviral, antimalarial and antituberculosis medicines in Zambia: Findings of routine post-marketing surveillance.

Background: There is growing concern in sub-Saharan Africa that poor-quality antimicrobial medicines may negate management of infectious diseases of public health importance should they fail to meet the set criteria of quality, safety and efficacy.

Objectives: The objective was to ascertain the quality of antiretroviral, antimalarial and antituberculosis medicines supplied and available in the public health sector in Zambia.

Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted involving the analysis of data from the continuous routine in-country post-marketing surveillance programme in Zambia that assessed the quality of antiretroviral, antimalarial and antituberculosis medicines supplied to public healthcare facilities between January 2018 and June 2023.