Access to medicines among asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented migrants across the migratory cycle in Europe: a scoping review.

Introduction: Access to essential medicines is a critical element of health systems and an important measure of their performance. Migrants may face barriers in accessing healthcare, including essential medicines, throughout the migration cycle, which includes the stages of departure from home or residence countries, transit through non-European or European countries, reception and settlement in a country in Europe and deportation. We aim to provide an overview of research and grey literature concerning access to essential medicines for asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented migrants in or heading to Europe (European Union, European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK).

Substandard and falsified medicines in African pharmaceutical markets: A case study from Ethiopia.

Background: Substandard and falsified (SF) medicines are a global health problem. Their high prevalence is a threat to public health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, there are few street-level investigations of how this market works.

Evaluation of Rational Medicines Use Based on World Health Organization Core Indicators: A Cross-Sectional Study in Five Health Districts in Mauritania.

Introduction: The rational use of medicines is essential for preventing adverse medicine reactions, achieving therapeutic outcomes, and optimizing treatment costs. While the irrational use of medicines is frequently reported in sub-Saharan Africa, to the best of our knowledge no formal studies have taken place in Mauritania thus far. The main objective of this study was therefore to analyze the rational use of medicines in public and private not-for-profit health facilities, in five health districts in Mauritania.

The response to substandard and falsified medical products in francophone sub-Saharan African countries: weaknesses and opportunities.

Assuring the quality of medical products manufactured, imported or distributed in francophone sub-Saharan Africa remains a challenge, despite positive signals like the growing engagement in the benchmarking of regulatory authorities and -particularly- in the establishment of the African Medicines Agency. In this short report, we describe the existing activities to prevent, detect and respond to substandard and falsified products (SF) in this region, either through African multilateral organizations and initiatives led by the World Health Organization, or through the contribution of other stakeholders, such as local universities and procurement agencies. We underline that these emerging local stakeholders may play a pivotal role to guide and inform the national regulatory authorities about the prevalence and patterns of SF medical products, complementing the market surveillance and control, and building awareness of the importance of pharmaceutical quality assurance for public health.

Usefulness of medicine screening tools in the frame of pharmaceutical post-marketing surveillance.

The negative consequences of Substandard and falsified (SF) medicines are widely documented nowadays and there is still an urgent need to find them in more efficient ways. Several screening tools have been developed for this purpose recently. In this study, three screening tools were used on 292 samples of ciprofloxacin and metronidazole collected in Cameroon.

Access to medicine among asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented migrants across the migratory cycle: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction: Migration creates new health vulnerabilities and exacerbates pre-existing medical conditions. Migrants often face legal, system-related, administrative, language and financial barriers to healthcare, but little is known about factors that specifically influence migrants' access to medicines and vaccines. This scoping review aims to map existing evidence on access to essential medicines and vaccines among asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented migrants who aim to reach Europe.

Access to opioid analgesics for medical use at hospital level in the Democratic Republic of Congo: An exploratory mixed-method study.

Objective: To investigate the availability of and access to opioid analgesics at hospital level in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Methods: Exploratory mixed-method study combining a descriptive survey of the availability of opioid analgesics at hospital pharmacies with a qualitative survey that explored the experiences and perceptions of healthcare workers, managers, patients and caregivers, by means of a short questionnaire and of semi-structured interviews. The study was conducted in a convenience sample of 12 hospitals, located in five different provinces, in 2021.

Boosting ethics review capacity in public health emergency situations: Co-creation of a training model for French-speaking research ethics committees.

Background: Ethics review preparedness is a major foundation for national effective response to public health emergencies, because it promotes pertinent research and enhances the protection of research participants and communities. In low-income countries, it can also promote equitable research partnership. However, most relevant literature is in English and not easily accessible for the members of research ethics committees in French-speaking African countries.

Age-modified factors associated with placental malaria in rural Burkina Faso.

Background: Malaria in pregnancy can result in placental infection with fetal implications. This study aimed at assessing placental malaria (PM) prevalence and its associated factors in a cohort of pregnant women with peripheral malaria and their offspring.

Method: The data were collected in the framework of a clinical trial on treatments for malaria in pregnant women .

Out of the boxes, out of the silos: The need of interdisciplinary collaboration to reduce poor-quality medical products in the supply chain.

In this paper, we argue that understanding and addressing the problem of poor-quality medical products requires a more interdisciplinary approach than has been evident to date. While prospective studies based on rigorous standardized methodologies are the gold standard for measuring the prevalence of poor-quality medical products and understanding their distribution nationally and internationally, they should be complemented by social science research to unpack the complex set of social, economic, and governance factors that underlie these patterns. In the following sections, we discuss specific examples of prospective quality surveys and of social science studies, highlighting the value of cross-sector partnerships in driving high-quality, policy-relevant research in this area.

Study on identification, assay and organoleptic quality of veterinary medicines in Ethiopia.

Background: Medicines of poor quality are currently prevailing problems undermining the quality of health care services in veterinary and human medicine. In this study, physico-chemical quality of veterinary medicines was evaluated.

Methods: A total of 959 veterinary medicines samples were collected during routine regulatory activities, i.

Training on adequate use of opioid analgesics in West and Central Africa: a neglected step on the way to access to essential medicines?

Alleviating acute and chronic pain is a moral imperative for health professionals and health systems, and it requires adequate access to and use of essential opioid analgesics. However, this is still a neglected issue in global health, with striking inequalities in opioids availability between high and low- and middle-income countries. Countries most affected by lack of access are those with a fragile political situation and weak regulatory and healthcare systems.

COVID-19 vaccine equity: a health systems and policy perspective.

Introduction: The global COVID-19 vaccine rollout has highlighted inequities in the accessibility of countries to COVID-19 vaccines. Populations in low- and middle-income countries have found it difficult to have access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Areas Covered: This perspective provides analyses on historical and contemporary policy trends of vaccine development and immunization programs, including the current COVID-19 vaccination drive, and governance challenges.