Fatima Suleman: making medicines more widely available

Medicines availability at a Swaziland hospital and impact on patients

BACKGROUND The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries is increasing. Where patients are expected to make increased out-of-pocket payments this can lead to treatment interruptions or non-adherence. Swaziland is no exception in this regard. AIM The aim of the study was to investigate the availability of medicines for NCDs in a hospital and the impact of o...

Price, availability and affordability of medicines

BACKGROUND Medicines play an important role in healthcare, but prices can be a barrier to patient care. Few studies have looked at the prices of essential medicines in low- and middle-income countries in terms of patient affordability. AIM To determine the prices, availability and affordability of medicines along the supply chain in Swaziland. SETTING Private- and public-sector facilities i...

Selection of essential medicines for South Africa - an analysis of in-depth interviews with national essential medicines list committee members

BACKGROUND The South African (SA) public health system has employed an Essential Medicines List (EML) with Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs) in the public sector since 1996. To date no studies have reported on the process of selection of essential medicines for SA EMLs and how this may have changed over time. This study reports on the decision making process for the selection of essential me...

Making plasma derived medicines available

Parents’ and guardians’ perceptions on availability and pricing of medicines and healthcare for children in eThekwini, South Africa – a qualitative study

BACKGROUND Inadequate access to affordable essential medicines poses a challenge to achieving Universal Health Coverage. Access to essential medicines for children has been in the spotlight in recent research. However, information from the end users of medicines, i.e. patients is scarce. Obtaining information at a household level is integral to understanding how people access, obtain and use me...