BackgroundIn Tanzania, many people seek malaria treatment from retail drug sellers. The National Malaria Control Program identified the accredited drug dispensing outlet (ADDO) program as a private sector mechanism to supplement the distribution of subsidized artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) from public facilities and increase access to the first-line antimalarial in rural and underserved areas. The ADDO program strengthens private sector pharmaceutical services by improving regulatory and supervisory support, dispenser training, and record keeping practices.MethodsThe government's pilot program made subsidized ACTs available through ADDOs in 10 districts in the Morogoro and Ruvuma regions, covering about 2.9 million people. The program established a supply of subsidized ACTs, created a price system with a cost recovery plan, developed a plan to distribute the subsidized products to the ADDOs, trained dispensers, and strengthened the adverse drug reactions reporting system. As part of the evaluation, 448 ADDO dispensers brought their records to central locations for analysis, representing nearly 70% of ADDOs operating in the two regions. ADDO drug register data were available from July 2007-June 2008 for Morogoro and from July 2007-September 2008 for Ruvuma. This intervention was implemented from 2007-2008.ResultsDuring the pilot, over 300,000 people received treatment for malaria at the 448 ADDOs. The percentage of ADDOs that dispensed at least one course of ACT rose from 26.2% during July-September 2007 to 72.6% during April-June 2008. The number of malaria patients treated with ACTs gradually increased after the start of the pilot, while the use of non-ACT antimalarials declined; ACTs went from 3% of all antimalarials sold in July 2007 to 26% in June 2008. District-specific data showed substantial variation among the districts in ACT uptake through ADDOs, ranging from ACTs representing 10% of all antimalarial sales in Kilombero to 47% in Morogoro Rural.ConclusionsThe intervention increased access to affordable ACTs for underserved populations. Indications are that antimalarial monotherapies are being "crowded out" of the market. Importantly, the transition to ACTs has been accomplished in an environment where the safety and efficacy of the drugs and the quality of services are being monitored and regulated. This paper presents a description of the pilot program implementation, results of the program evaluation, and a discussion of the challenges and recommendations that will be used to guide rollout of subsidized ACT in ADDOs in the rest of Tanzania and possibly in other countries.
IntroductionPeople in many low-income countries access medicines from retail drug shops. In Tanzania, a public-private partnership launched in 2003 used an accreditation approach to improve access to quality medicines and pharmaceutical services in underserved areas. The government scaled up the accredited drug dispensing outlet (ADDO) program nationally, with over 9,000 shops now accredited. This study assessed the relationships between community members and their sources of health care and medicines, particularly antimicrobials, with a specific focus on the role ADDOs play in the health care system.MethodsUsing mixed methods, we collected data in four regions. We surveyed 1,185 households and audited 96 ADDOs and 84 public/nongovernmental health facilities using a list of 17 tracer drugs. To determine practices in health facilities, we interviewed 1,365 exiting patients. To assess dispensing practices, mystery shoppers visited 306 ADDOs presenting one of three scenarios (102 each) about a child’s respiratory symptoms.Results and DiscussionOf 614 household members with a recent acute illness, 73% sought outside care—30% at a public facility and 31% at an ADDO. However, people bought medicines more often at ADDOs no matter who recommended the treatment; of the 581 medicines that people had received, 49% came from an ADDO. Although health facilities and ADDOs had similar availability of antimicrobials, ADDOs had more pediatric formulations available (p<0.001). The common perception was that drugs from ADDOs are more expensive, but the difference in the median cost to treat pneumonia was relatively minimal (US$0.26 in a public facility and US$0.30 in an ADDO). Over 20% of households said they had someone with a chronic condition, with 93% taking medication, but ADDOs are allowed to sell very few chronic care-related medicines. ADDO dispensers are trained to refer complicated cases to a health facility, and notably, 99% of mystery shoppers presenting a pneumonia scenario received an antimicrobial (54%), a referral (90%), or both (45%), which are recommended practices for managing pediatric pneumonia. However, one-third of the dispensers needlessly sold antibiotics for cold symptoms, and 85% sold an antibiotic on request. In addition, the pneumonia scenario elicited more advice on handling the illness than the cold symptoms scenario (61% vs. 15%; p<0.0001), but overall, only 44% of the dispensers asked any of the shoppers about danger signs potentially associated with pneumonia in a child.ConclusionADDOs are the principal source of medicines in Tanzania and an important part of a multi-faceted health care system. Poor prescribing in health facilities, poor dispensing at ADDOs, and inappropriate patient demand continue to contribute to inappropriate medicines use. Therefore, while accreditation has attempted to address the quality of pharmaceutical services in private sector drug outlets, efforts to improve access to and use of medicines in Tanzania need to target ADDOs, public/nongovernmental health facilities, and t...
Background The availability of medicines in public health facilities in Tanzania is problematic. Medicines shortages are often caused by unavailability at Medical Stores Department, the national supplier for public health facilities. During such stock-outs, districts may purchase from private suppliers. However, this procedure is intransparent, bureaucratic and uneconomic. Objectives To complement the national supply chain in case of stock-outs with a simplified, transparent and efficient procurement procedure based on a public-private partnership approach with a prime vendor at the regional level. To develop a successful pilot of a Prime Vendor system with the potential for national scale-up. Methods A public-private partnership was established engaging one private sector pharmaceutical supplier as the Prime Vendor to provide the complementary medicines needed by public health facilities in Tanzania. The Dodoma pilot region endorsed the concept involving the private sector, and procedures to procure complementary supplies from a single vendor in a pooled regional contract were developed. A supplier was tendered and contracted based on Good Procurement Practice. Pilot implementation was guided by Standard Operating Procedures, and closely monitored with performance indicators. A 12-step approach for national implementation was applied including cascade training from national to facility level. Each selected vendor signed a contract with the respective regional authority. Results In the pilot region, tracer medicines availability increased from 69% in 2014 to 94% in 2018. Prime vendor supplies are of assured quality and average prices are comparable to prices of Medical Stores Department. Procurement procedures are simplified, shortened, standardized, transparent and well-governed. Procurement capacity was enhanced at all levels of the health system. Proven successful, the Prime Vendor system pilot was rolled-out nationally, on government request, to all 26 regions of mainland Tanzania, covering 185 councils and 5381 health facilities. Conclusion The Prime Vendor system complements regular government supply through a regional contract approach. It is anchored in the structures of the regional health administration and in the decentralisation policy of the country. This partnership with the private sector facilitates procurement of additional supplies within a culture of transparency and accountability. Regional leadership, convincing pilot results and policy dialogue have led to national roll-out. Transferring this smaller-scale supply chain intervention to other regions requires country ownership and support for sustainable operations.
Surveillance of antimicrobial consumption is essential to the national action plan for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as stipulated in the Global Action Plan on AMR and the Tanzanian National Action Plan on AMR. Given the paucity of antimicrobial consumption data in sub-Saharan Africa region, the objective of this study was to measure antimicrobial consumption in Tanzania.Methods: From 2017 to 2019, data on all antimicrobials imported into Tanzania were obtained from the Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority Data, augmented with purchasing data from the Medical Stores Department and data from local manufacturers. Data were collected and analyzed in accordance with the World Health Organization Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical and defined daily doses (DDD) methodology. Results:The average DDD per 1,000 inhabitants per day (DDD/1,000/D) for all antimicrobials was 80.8 ± 39.35. The DDD/1,000/D declined from 136.41 in 2017 to 54.98 in 2018 and 51.02 in 2019. Doxycycline, amoxicillin, and trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole were the most frequently consumed antibiotics during these years, accounting for 20.01, 16.75, and 12.42 DDD/1,000/D, respectively. The majority of antimicrobial consumption in Tanzania occurred in the private sector, with the proportion of private-sector antibiotic consumption increasing annually from 2017 to 2019. Based on AWaRe classification >90% of antimicrobial consumption was Access class medications, with Watch and Reserve class medications accounting for <10% and <1%, respectively. Conclusion:The private sector use of antimicrobials is significantly increasing and should be carefully monitored in accordance with national policies. Future work is necessary to increase reporting of antimicrobial consumption patterns in sub-Saharan Africa.
BackgroundPeople in low-income countries purchase a high proportion of antimicrobials from retail drug shops, both with and without a prescription. Tanzania’s accredited drug dispensing outlet (ADDO) program includes dispenser training, enforcement of standards, and the legal right to sell selected antimicrobials. We assessed the role of ADDOs in facilitating access to antimicrobials.MethodsWe purposively chose four regions, randomly selected three districts and five wards per district. Study methods included interviews at 1200 households regarding care-seeking for acute illness and knowledge about antimicrobials; mystery shoppers visiting 306 ADDOs posing as a caregiver of a child with 1) pneumonia, 2) mild acute respiratory infection (ARI), or 3) a runny nose and request for co-trimoxazole; and audits of antimicrobial availability and prices at 84 public health facilities (PHFs) and 96 ADDOs.ResultsFour hundred sixty seven (76 %) members from 367 (77 %) households had recently sought care outside the home for acute illness; 128 had purchased antimicrobials, of which 61 % had been recommended by a doctor or nurse and 32 % by an ADDO dispenser. Only 29 % obtained the antimicrobial at a PHF, whereas, 48 % purchased them at an ADDO. Most thought that ADDOs are convenient place for care, usually have needed medicines, and have high quality services and products, contrasting with 66 % who reported dissatisfaction with PHF waiting times and 56 % with medicine availability. One-third (34 %) of mystery shoppers presenting the mild ARI scenario were inappropriately sold an antimicrobial and 85 % were sold one on request; encouragingly, 99 % presenting a case of pneumonia received either an antimicrobial, referral to a trained provider, or request to bring the child for examination. Overall, 63 and 60 % of the 15 tracer antimicrobials were in stock in ADDOs and PHFs, respectively; ADDOs had significantly more antimicrobial formulations for children available (83 vs. 51 %). Of 369 records of antimicrobial sales in 47 ADDOs, 63 % were dispensed on prescription.ConclusionADDOs have increased access to antimicrobials in Tanzania. Community members see them as integral to the health system. Antimicrobials are overused due to poor ADDO dispensing, poor PHF prescribing, and inappropriate public demand. Multi-pronged interventions are needed to address all determinants.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13756-015-0075-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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