Sarah Byasi shakes her head as she runs her finger down the stock page. She is in charge of drug supplies at the Kibogo hospital in Uganda and points to blanks showing there were no modern malaria drugs for adults for the three months until January; and none for children are currently available.
“We give paracetamol if there are no ACTs [artemisinin combination therapy – the current preferred treatment for malaria],” she says – a solution that provides only palliative support to patients suffering the disease’s symptoms of fevers and aches.
Others in local clinics turn to quinine – a “salvage” drug. But its misuse, like that of ACTs, increases the risks of drug resistance that will render treatments still less effective.
Such “stock-outs” highlight how the development of even potent drugs such as ACTs are only the first step to ensure that treatments reach patients. Funding and medical supplies are increasing, yet they are still not saving as many lives as they should.
The frustration is compounded by scenes such as that across the road from Kibogo hospital, where a private pharmacy has no such supply problems. It offers wealthier patients a large range of ACTs – as well as many unauthorised malaria therapies that are ineffective or risk triggering resistance....
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8a9e6f26-4ce6-11df-9977-00144feab49a,dwp_uuid=8d6b86d2-4cd5-11df-9977-00144feab49a.html
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