Promising Practices in Capacity Development for Health Supply Chains in Resource-Constrained Countries.

Performance gaps in health supply chains in low- and middle-income countries contribute significantly to inefficiencies and underperformance of their health systems. Some significant factors hindering the performance of supply chains in low and middle-income countries include low human resource capacity and capability, weak structures for monitoring supply chain performance, weak in-service and pre-service training programs, chronic underfunding, lack of transparency and an overdependence on obsolete methods, like manual data gathering, record-keeping, and analyses. Although proven health supply chain strengthening techniques exist, the level of adoption of these practices has varied across countries, resulting in multiple capacity gaps and underperforming supply chains.

An assessment of dispensing practices in private pharmacies in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

Objectives: To assess medicine dispensing practices in private pharmacies in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania and recommend interventions to improve practice.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey and observational study of dispensing practices among 70 pharmacies in metropolitan Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

Key Findings: There were 1479 dispensing encounters recorded across the 70 pharmacies.

The quest for universal access to effective malaria treatment: how can the AMFm contribute?

Access to quality assured artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has remained very low in most malaria endemic countries. A number of reasons, including unaffordable prices, have contributed to the low accessibility to these life-saving medicines. The Affordable Medicines Facility-Malaria (AMFm) is a mechanism to increase access to quality assured ACT.

Knowledge of medicine outlets' staff and their practices for prevention and management of malaria in Ghana.

Objective: To obtain information about the staff resources available in licensed medicine outlets, assess their knowledge about malaria illness, current policy initiatives for malaria control, and the practices for prevention and management of malaria.

Setting: Hospitals/clinics and retail medicine outlets (community pharmacies and licensed chemical shops) from urban and rural areas in Southern and Northern Ghana.

Method: A cross section of medicine outlets (n = 121) in the two geographic and socio-economically diverse settings in Ghana were sampled.

Existing capacity to manage pharmaceuticals and related commodities in East Africa: an assessment with specific reference to antiretroviral therapy.

Background: East African countries have in the recent past experienced a tremendous increase in the volume of antiretroviral drugs. Capacity to manage these medicines in the region remains limited. Makerere University, with technical assistance from the USAID supported Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus (RPM Plus) Program of Management Sciences for Health (MSH) established a network of academic institutions to build capacity for pharmaceutical management in the East African region.