Essential drugs for ration kits in developing countries

Since the early 1980s drug ration kits have been used to improve the supply of essential drugs to rural health facilities in developing countries. This paper evaluates some of the experiences with kit systems in Angola, Bhutan, Democratic Yemen, Guinea-Conakry, Kenya, Mozambique, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia in relation to the selection of drugs for the kits and their quantities and cost. Data were collected through a review of published papers, annual reports and programme evaluations, by questionnaires among field staff and interviews with key experts. In comparing the 10 programmes, 21 drugs can be identified that are used in at least two-thirds of all kits. This list may be useful for evaluation and planning purposes. Six drugs (ORS, chloroquine and 4 antibiotics) usually account for over 60% of the cost of the kit. Careful monitoring of the price and quantities of these 6 drugs can therefore be very cost-effective. In the absence of reliable data on morbidity and drug needs in the initial phases of a kit system, the median drug quantities in kits from these 10 countries may serve as a starting point. Accumulating surpluses are sometimes perceived as a serious disadvantage of kit systems, ORS, benzylbenzoate solution and iron tablets are the three drugs that have most frequently accumulated. These drugs are relatively cheap and usually have a long shelf-life; in most programmes they have been successfully redistributed to other health facilities while the kit content was being adapted. The overall financial loss due to accumulation of surpluses is therefore limited. Most programmes have reached a stable kit content within two years.     

Low-cost telemedicine in the developing world

The Swinfen Charitable Trust uses digital cameras and email to provide specialist advice to doctors in developing countries. The first telemedicine link was set up in July 1999. By the end of a year there were three links to hospitals in Bangladesh, Nepal and the Solomon Islands. Initially the consultants, all of whom give their advice free of charge, were from the UK, but now are worldwide. At present there are 12 links in operation, including one on Tristan da Cunha, and two links approved and awaiting equipment. The advice given by the consultants has been found to be helpful to the referring doctors and to benefit their patients. Failures have been due to the use of obsolescent equipment, computer viruses, lack of communication with the referring hospital before setting up a link, and referring doctors not chasing up their own referrals. Problems yet to be solved include the unreliability of the Internet, certain medicolegal issues and assessing the quality of medical consultants. In future there will be the problem of managing a rapidly growing telemedicine network.     

Low-cost telemedicine in the developing world

The Swinfen Charitable Trust uses digital cameras and email to provide specialist advice to doctors in developing countries. The first telemedicine link was set up in July 1999. By the end of a year there were three links to hospitals in Bangladesh, Nepal and the Solomon Islands. Initially the consultants, all of whom give their advice free of charge, were from the UK, but now are worldwide. At present there are 12 links in operation, including one on Tristan da Cunha, and two links approved and awaiting equipment. The advice given by the consultants has been found to be helpful to the referring doctors and to benefit their patients. Failures have been due to the use of obsolescent equipment, computer viruses, lack of communication with the referring hospital before setting up a link, and referring doctors not chasing up their own referrals. Problems yet to be solved include the unreliability of the Internet, certain medicolegal issues and assessing the quality of medical consultants. In future there will be the problem of managing a rapidly growing telemedicine network.     

Quality improvement in the developing world.

A Quality Improvement (QI) team in a small clinic assessed children’scompliance with a standard treatment plan for a common infectiousdisease. Compliance was poor. Studying why, the staff discoveredthat the bad taste of the medicine was a principal problem.Working with mothers, the QI team identified popular foods thatcould be used to conceal the taste, and they placed in the waitingarea a poster showing how to use the foods to do it. In thenext test cycle, compliance with the treatment protocol hadrisen from 48% to 70%. The story is familiar—a successful quality improvementproject—but the setting is not. The project team was notin a wealthy American health maintenance organization or a primarycare practice in Sweden. In was in a remote African village,the disease was malaria, and the drug was chloroquine [1]. In conjunction with this     

Diphtheria: Changing patterns in the developing world and the industrialized world

In the past, diphtheria was considered one of the most serious childhood diseases because it took a heavy toll in health and life among preschool-aged children. Prior to the widespread availability of diphtheria toxoid, nearly 70% of cases were in children younger than 15 years of age. In the industrialized countries, immunization against diphtheria became widespread in the 1940s and 1950s. This led to a marked decrease in the incidence of diphtheria. There was also a decrease in circulating toxigenicCorynebacterium diphtheriae organisms, resulting in less natural boosting of antibody levels. This has led to gaps in the immunity of the adult population. Since 1990, diphtheria has made a spectacular comeback in several European countries, with a high proportion of cases in adults. In developing countries, immunization of infants with diphtheria toxoid was introduced within the Expanded Programme on Immunization in the late 1970s. Coverage rose slowly to 46% in 1985 and 79% in 1992. Because the pool of immunized persons is not yet large, the process of maintaining immunity still operates through natural mechanisms, including frequent skin infections caused byC. diphtheriae. But recently, several developing countries where coverage has been high for 5–10 years have reported diphtheria outbreaks. These outbreaks have been characterized by high case fatality rates, a large proportion of patients with complications, and their occurrence in both young and older age groups. In all countries, priority should be given to efforts to reach at least 90% coverage with three doses of diphtheria toxoid in children below one year of age. In countries where diphtheria has been successfully controlled, immunity levels should be maintained by booster doses.     

Essential drugs policy in Bolivia

Since the publication of the WHO list of essential drugs 10years ago, there has been a growing volume of literature onthe topic. This paper on the experience of essential drugs policyin Bolivia is written in the belief that reports on attemptsto implement drugs policies in individual countries are oneof the most instructive sources of information. Coming intopower in 1982, the democratic Bolivian government set up a centrally-controlledagency to be responsible for the procurement and distributionof drugs, with a view to making basic drugs available throughoutthe country. Despite limited technical and institutional resources,the policy proved administratively and organizationally practical.However problems arose at the political level both because theinterests of the industry and pharmacists were threatened andbecause there was disagreement within the government as to whetherdrugs should be seen as commercial goods or health aids. Theagency set up to implement the drug policy was abolished withintwo months of the neo-liberal government resuming power in 1985- emphasizing the symbolic importance of the agency in the overallhealth policy. Only when those concerned with drug policy atan international level concentrate on the political and culturalobstacles to essential drugs policies, and stop giving priorityto the practical issues of procurement and distribution, willtheir policies gain the credibility which is a prerequisitefor success.     

Essential drugs programmes in Africa

The essential drugs concept encompasses national drug policy, selection, quantification, quality assurance, procurement, inventory control and distribution, financing, rational drug use, and training. People from all sectors and levels were involved in developing Tanzania's national drug policy which was approved in 1991. The process developing a policy in Kenya continues. The policy will allow Kenya's Ministry of Health to implement various operational changes (e.g., improvements in hospital drug management). 40 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries have a national essential drug list (EDL). A synergistic effect results when EDLs are merged with standard treatment guidelines (STGs) (e.g., in Tanzania and Zimbabwe) or constructed with STGs and a national formulary. The Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria designated 209 drugs as essential drugs, while Nigerian states determined their own EDLs based on these 209 drugs. Spreadsheet models use morbidity patterns, past consumption, and population to help countries quantify drug needs which are then used to determine drug procurement. Various problems with quality assurance in regional and national quality control laboratories in SSA include staff turnover, limited equipment maintenance, and lack of reagents and laboratory standard solutions. A database, structured, flexible drug registration system allows countries (e.g., Zimbabwe) to monitor drug suppliers and agents. Drug procurement has improved in countries with established procurement systems. Computers help control and manage drug inventories. Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda distribute ration kits of prepackaged drug selections. Cash and carry in Ghana, hospital fees in Kenya, and community insurance schemes in Guinea Bissau are some financing schemes in SSA. The International Network for the Rational Use of Drugs is operating in Ghana, Nigeria, the Sudan, and Tanzania. Training courses in drug supply management are held in Ghana, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.     

Telemedicine support for the developing world

Telemedicine has been used for some years in the industrialized world, albeit with rather mixed success. There is also a considerable literature on the potential use of telemedicine for the developing world. However, there are few reports of the actual use of telemedicine there. A review identified five telemedicine networks providing second opinions; each network had been in operation for over five years. Although they have different aims and methods of operation, they exhibit some common features. In particular, none of them appear to be dealing with markedly increasing referral rates. Rough calculations suggest that only about 0.1% of the potential telemedicine demand from the developing world is being met. Possible reasons include the referrers being too busy and a perceived loss of control. If this analysis is correct, then the right strategy for future telemedicine in developing countries will be to concentrate on the construction of within-country networks that demonstrably alter health outcomes, can be shown to be cost-effective and sustainable, and will provide a model for other countries to copy.     

Nutrition and healthy functioning in the developing world

There is a general lack of data for studying the relationship between nutrition and healthy functioning among the elderly in developing countries. Nevertheless, knowledge of biological relationships from studies in other countries can be applied to gain an understanding of what can be expected in the developing world. In this respect, the concept of the nutrition transition is important. However, nutrition transition as related to elderly populations in developing countries has not yet been adequately studied. The developing world is not homogeneous with respect to patterns of nutritional status among the elderly, and problems of both under- and overnutrition exist among different populations of the elderly and both will be important factors for future functional status levels. In addition, there are many extrinsic factors (such as socioeconomic, political and cultural factors) in these countries that are even more important in determining nutritional status and its relation to function. Unless research and policy development in developing countries escalate and keep pace with the nutrition and demographic transitions in these countries, high levels of disability and dependency are likely in the near future.     

Essential drugs in the new international economic environment

Recent global developments in the regulation of trade and intellectual property rights threaten to hinder the access of populations in developing countries to essential drugs. The authors argue for state intervention in the health and pharmaceutical markets in order to guarantee equitable access to these products.     

Building capacity in health research in the developing world

Strong national health research systems are needed to improve health systems and attain better health. For developing countries to indigenize health research systems, it is essential to build research capacity. We review the positive features and weaknesses of various approaches to capacity building, emphasizing that complementary approaches to human resource development work best in the context of a systems and long-term perspective. As a key element of capacity building, countries must also address issues related to the enabling environment, in particular: leadership, career structure, critical mass, infrastructure, information access and interfaces between research producers and users. The success of efforts to build capacity in developing countries will ultimately depend on political will and credibility, adequate financing, and a responsive capacity-building plan that is based on a thorough situational analysis of the resources needed for health research and the inequities and gaps in health care. Greater national and international investment in capacity building in developing countries has the greatest potential for securing dynamic and agile knowledge systems that can deliver better health and equity, now and in the future.