Utilization of Affordable Medicine Facility for Malaria (AMFm) Artemisinin based Combination Therapy in Ho Municipality, Ghana

Utilization of ACTs in Ghana has been low due to the high cost of the ACTs. The AMFm program which implements a subsidization of ACTs was therefore introduced in Ghana in august 2010. This program aims at increasing access to effective ACTs by making the ACTs available and affordable. Phase 1 of this program is presently being implemented in Ghana and will be evaluated after 24 months to determine if the program is to continue. Since the introduction of this program, no study has yet been done to determine the level of utilization of ACTs in the country. This study aims to determine the availability and utilization of the AMFm ACTs and to assess the factors influencing the choice of AMFm ACTs by those who buy antimalarials in the Ho Municipality. Method The study was a descriptive, cross sectional study which involved both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative part involved an exit interview of people who bought antimalarials from pharmacies and chemical shops. It also involved administering semi-structured questionnaires to all pharmacists and chemical sellers in their shops in Ho Municipality. The qualitative part was an indepth interview of one pharmacist and eight chemical sellers to assess the factors influencing the availability of AMFm-ACTs in pharmacies and chemical shops. Results the proportion of AMFmACTs bought from pharmacies and chemical shops during this study were 50.6%. The proportion of total ACTs bought was 69.7%. The proportion of pharmacies and chemical shops with stocks of ACTs was 68.9%. The main reasons that resulted in shops not having the AMFm ACTs were because the chemical sellers did not know the AMFm ACTs and the medicine not being available in the district when the chemical seller was trying to buy them. Pharmacists and chemical sellers were motivated to continue stocking the medicine because it was selling fast and was considered an effective medicine. Conclusion The utilization of the AMFm ACTs has increased from 0% to 50.6% since they were introduced in august 2010. The use of all ACTs in the district is now fairly high 69.7%.The pharmacists and chemical sellers in the district consider these medicines effective and are willing to continue selling them. People also consider this medicine affordable and effective. Therefore the use of ACTs in the district will continue to increase with the presence of these subsidized ACTs.