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The role of local manufacturers in improving access to essential medicines|Creating opportunities for the scale-up of local pharmaceutical production

MOHAMED, Nazeem
November 2009

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The local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals is a hotly contested issue in many countries. It runs to the heart of key concerns such as quality, availability, and price of medicines. Some of the arguments of the local manufacturers are set out in this article by one of the co-chairs of the Medicines Transparency Alliance Uganda Council and Chairman of the Uganda Pharmaceutical Manufacturer's Association (UPMA)

Survey of the quality of selected antimalarial medicines circulating in Madagascar, Senegal, and Uganda

UNITED STATES PHARMACOPEIA DRUG AND INFORMATION PROGRAM
November 2009

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This report focuses on three of 10 sub-Saharan countries that were covered by a study examining the quality of key antimalarial medicines. A total of 491 samples of anti-malarial medicines (both artemisinin-based combination therapy and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine products) were collected from the public sector, the regulated private sector and the informal market in these three countries. The study revealed a high failure rate among sampled antimalarials in all three countries, based both on Minilab and full-compendial or quality control laboratory testing

The push for local production, costs and benefits - a case study of Uganda’s Quality Chemicals|Africa Fighting Malaria policy paper

TAYLOR, James
et al
September 2009

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This research report considers the challenges faced by a local pharmaceutical firm - Quality Chemicals - in Uganda, which was started up as a 'solution' to reducing the high cost of medicines and improving access to medicines. "...many burdens and barriers to access continue to seriously hinder the success of such enterprises. Indirect government subsidies to exporters selling into African markets, and pressure by donors and lobbyists on innovator producers to offer developing countries subsidised prices, actually undermine the competitiveness and viability of these nascent firms. Furthermore, the focus on drug pricing and local production can actually undermine the overall aim to increase access to medicines"

A handbook for network support agents and other community workers supporting HIV prevention, care, support and treatment

March 2009

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This manual is intended to help network support agents and other community workers be more effective in disseminating standardised information about HIV and AIDS. It "...emphasises the importance of the acquisition of knowledge, skills and the right attitude needed to identify the psychosocial needs of people of people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and address these needs by giving information, counselling and appropriate referrals. Knowledge of counselling and psychosocial care, is combined as much as possible with prevention activities such as adopting HIV basic care positive prevention and adherence to treatment"

Seizing the opportunity on AIDS and health systems

OOMMAN, Nandini
BERNSTEIN, Michael
ROSENZWEIG, Steven
August 2008

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This is a comparison of donor interactions with national health systems in Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia - specifically: the health information systems, the supply chain systems for essential medicines, and human resources for health. It focuses on the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the World Bank’s Africa Multi-Country AIDS Program

Antimalarial drug quality in the most severely malarious parts of Africa - a six country study

BATE, Roger
COTICELLI, Philip
TREN, Richard
ATTARAN, Amir
May 2008

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This article describes research conducted on a range of antimalarial drugs, procured from private pharmacies in urban and peri-urban areas in the major cities of six African countries which were subjected to semi-quantitative thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and dissolution testing to measure active pharmaceutical ingredient content against internationally acceptable standards

Knowledge for action on equity in health in Uganda

MAKERERE UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
HEPS UGANAD - COALITION FOR HEALTH PROMOTION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
2008

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This is the report of a national meeting to promote policies for equity in health. It brought together government, academic and civil society institutions to explore, understand and propose options for reducing inequalities in health in Uganda

Missing the target #5 : improving AIDS drug access and advancing health care for all

INTERNATIONAL TREATMENT PREPAREDNESS COALITION (ITPC)
December 2007

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This report documents how the mobilisation around AIDS is driving health systems advancement in China, Dominican Republic, Zimbabwe, Russia, Kenya, India, Cameroon, Zambia and Cambodia, and it highlights the need for improvements in broader systems of care and services to meet the needs of people living with HIV & AIDS and the communities in which they live. It also considers ARV procurement, registration and stock-outs in Argentina, Belize, Cambodia, China, Dominican Republic, India, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Pain relieving drugs in 12 African PEPFAR countries : mapping current providers, identifying current challenges, and enabling expansion of pain control provision in the management of HIV/AIDS

HARDING, Richard
et al
January 2007

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This study aims to identify current opioid prescribing services and regulatory bodies within 12 African PEPFAR (Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ) countries, and to examine the barriers to, and appraise the potential for, expansion in the number of opioid providers, for people with HIV and AIDS according to the World Health Organization pain ladder. It concludes that while there are common issues raised by services and International Narcotics Control Board competent authorities, it is clear that these key stakeholders have concerns regarding the potential roll-out of opioids

Changing children's lives : experiences from memory work in Africa

HEALTHLINK WORLDWIDE
2007

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This publication aims to share learning from the memory work that Healthlink Worldwide and six other NGOs across sub-Saharan Africa have developed in response to the HIV epidemic. The focus is on learning and analysis in the theory and practice of memory work as well as demonstrating its effectiveness as an HIV response. It is aimed at international and national level policy makers who design and support HIV initiatives, as well as practitioners, who implement responses to the HIV epidemic directly at a local and national level

Another way to learn : case studies

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION
2007

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These case studies come from an initiative that supports non-formal education projects in Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. The long-term goal of these projects is to develop sustainable livelihoods for low-income, low-literate populations by addressing vulnerability to HIV and AIDS and drug misuse, a lack of education and social exclusion. Central to all of these projects are the creative and innovative methods used to communicate in a meaningful way, engage people and encourage their participation. The projects all focus on capacity building, empowerment, and creating learning opportunities. A DVD has been produced to accompany this publication

Medicine prices surveys and proposed interventions to improve sustainable access to affordable medicines in 6 sub-Saharan African countries|Etudes des prix des medicaments et interventions proposeees pur ameliorer durablement l'acces aux medicaments dan

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
2006

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This document brings together the outcomes of six surveys into medicine prices - for Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Tanzania, Chad and Uganda - and one for the East African Community (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) . The reports for Mali and Chad are written in French and the others in English

Impact of public-private partnerships addressing access to pharmaceuticals in low and middle income countries : A synthesis report from studies in Botswana, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Zambia

CAINES, Karen
LUSH, Louisiana
September 2004

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This report provides an overview, with general conclusions and recommendations, from a series of studies in Uganda (the pilot country) plus Botswana, Sri Lanka and Zambia, designed to assess the health and health systems impact of public-private partnerships for improving access to pharmaceuticals in relation to tropical diseases and/or HIV and AIDS, where pharmaceutical companies are involved as partners in supplying free or discounted drugs

Processes and issues for improving access to medicines : willingness and ability to utilise TRIPS flexibilities in non-producing countries

BAKER, Brook K.
August 2004

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This paper addresses the varied ways by which a non-medicine producing country may lawfully utilise the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) flexibilities, primarily by importing. However, it also briefly discusses means for promoting local production through pharmaceutical capacity building and through both compulsory and voluntary licensing. To help decision-makers in understanding and evaluating the opportunities and constraints of each alternative, the paper briefly describes their respective advantages and disadvantages in terms of developing countries’ sustainable access to more affordable medicines, highlighting differing legal interpretations, political realities and pragmatic administrative and economic constraints

Emerging challenges and opportunities in drug registration and regulation in developing countries

HILL, Suzanne
JOHNSON, Kent
May 2004

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This study describes current drug regulation and registration processes in selected countries, in order to understand how they affect the quality and availability of medicines in developing countries. It puts forward policy recommendations as to how systems can more efficiently allow appropriate quality drugs to be marketed and examines the emerging challenges and requirements posed by compulsory licensing, drugs for neglected diseases, anti-retroviral (ARV) and anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs

Stepping back from the edge : the pursuit of antiretroviral therapy in Botswana, South Africa and Uganda

JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
2004

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This report looks at what is being done to challenge the pace of progress on access to antiretroviral medicines in three very different African countries - Botswana, South Africa and Uganda. It describes who is driving these initiatives at grass-roots level and how. It offers insights and draws on lessons from firsthand experiences that can help those already working towards better access to antiretrovirals, and encourages others to embark on similar initiatives. It is intended for all those with an interest in this issue, from policy- and decision-makers with the power to create a favourable environment for antiretroviral treatment, to those working on the front line in health services, NGOs and AIDS service organizations, as well as those living with HIV, whose role in the battle for wider access is vital

Improving management of childhood malaria in Nigeria and Uganda by improving practices of patent medicine vendors

GREER, George
et al
2004

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"A number of studies from Sub-Saharan African (SSA) have shown that between 15 and 82 per cent of the population choose to first consult private drug shops and informal providers for advice about and assistance with treatment of childhood illnesses. It has also been found for private shops that a large percentage of the drugs provided or dosages given, or both, are inappropriate, indicating the need for innovative and effective approaches to achieve rational prescribing practices. The Ministries of Health in Nigeria and Uganda, in collaboration with partners, designed approaches to utilize private providers for delivery of basic child survival strategies and products to those populations less served by the public sector. These two distinct exploratory models built on lessons from similar efforts in SSA and elsewhere to develop approaches suited to the present situations in Nigeria and Uganda. This report describes the design, implementation, and results of those interventions"

Impact of public-private partnerships addressing access to pharmaceuticals in low income countries : Uganda pilot study

CAINES, Karen
et al
October 2003

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This is the report of a pilot study in Uganda to assess the health and health systems impact of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for improving access to pharmaceuticals in relation to leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, sleeping sickness, and HIV and AIDS. It examines issues of ownership, integration, coordination, implementation and impact, with a particular focus on the unique strengths and problems of these access PPPs as distinct from other comparable programmes where drugs are competitively procured

Uganda national drug policy

MINISTRY OF HEALTH, UGANDA
October 2002

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The Uganda national drug policy has been created to help ..."contribute to the attainment of a good standard of health by the population of Uganda, through ensuring the availability, accessibility and affordability of essential drugs of appropriate quality, safety and efficacy and by promoting their rational use"

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