Pharmacovigilance systems for safety monitoring of herbal medicines: assessment of the national regulatory authority, manufacturers and marketing authorisation holders in Tanzania.

Background: The increase in the consumption of herbal medicines and their documented adverse reactions (ARs) necessitate countries to have good pharmacovigilance (PV) systems at all levels. PV systems should be frequently assessed in a systematic manner with available harmonised tools to monitor the implementation of efforts, strengthen the systems and identify areas for improvement.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the performance of pharmacovigilance and its quality systems for monitoring herbal medicine safety at the National PV Centre at the Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority (TMDA), manufacturers and herbal medicine marketing authorisation holders (MAHs) to identify gaps, challenges and opportunities for improvement.

Comparison of knowledge, attitude, practice and predictors of self-medication with antibiotics among medical and non-medical students in Tanzania.

Self-medication with antibiotics (SMA) is a widespread problem in developing nations, including Tanzania. This study compared knowledge, attitudes, practices, and factors influencing antibiotic SMA among medical and non-medical students. The prevalence of SMA among medical students was 49.

Barriers to access of maternal health commodities among pregnant women in public health facilities in Ubungo Municipal Council, Tanzania.

Background: Access to maternal health commodities improves maternal outcome and reduce maternal deaths. Tanzania has put in place the fee exemption policy for mothers to access maternal health commodities for free, however, the implementation of user fee exemption has been challenging. Therefore, this study explored the barriers to access of maternal health commodities among pregnant women in public health facilities at Ubungo Municipal Council, Tanzania.

Safety profile of herbal medicines submitted for marketing authorization in Tanzania: a cross-sectional retrospective study.

Background: The popular use of herbal medicines necessitates national regulatory authorities to have efficient mechanisms for the control of these products including marketing authorization (MA) and safety follow-up. Herbal medicines like conventional medicines require assessment of efficacy, safety and quality information before MA can be granted. However, the complete proof of safety is mainly based on the history of the long-term traditional use.

Impact of COVID-19 on the supply chain of essential health commodities: a mixed method study, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 in the late 2019 led to major global health crises, including morbidities and mortalities. The pandemic has adversely affected the supply chain of essential health commodities globally. However, such data from sub-Saharan Africa including Tanzania are largely limited.