Journal ID : CJOHNS-08-01-2024-11423
[This article belongs to Volume - 55, Issue - 01]

Title : THE ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY OF ORAL MEDICATIONS SPECIFICALLY ANTIBIOTICS FOR TREATING NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Abstract :

The current study examined the price and accessibility of thirteen oral drugs, mainly antibiotics against non-communicable diseases, in developing nations to support the tracking of progress towards these goals. As part of a study on the quality of pharmaceuticals, information on the accessibility and availability of these medications was gathered from a variety of locations (including government and private hospitals, clinics, and street vendors) throughout 34 countries in Pakistan, 29 in Egypt, and 27 in Bangladesh. A standardised method created by Health Action International (HAI) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) was used to analyse the data. The study found that the average availability of oral drugs, specifically antibiotics, varied between 70% and 98% across various facility types in both nations, including informal sellers. Three nations exhibited a higher variety in the average availability of drugs against NCDs in the different types of institutions; in Bangladesh, this variation ranged from 11% to 87%. Of particular note is the low availability of oral drugs to prevent non-communicable diseases (35%, 35%, and 11% accessibility in Egypt, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, respectively), particularly in government-run healthcare facilities. The availability of these oral medications in other healthcare facilities is 75% in Egypt, 91% in Bangladesh, and 75% in Egypt. Treatment courses involving five of the seven researched antibiotics could be deemed affordable in proportion to the daily minimum earnings in three countries, but only one of the five investigated drugs against NCDs could be deemed affordable in each country. In most situations, the government and other healthcare facilities' generic medication selection demonstrated a respectable level of affordability. The affordability and accessibility of drugs against NCDs urgently need to be improved, albeit some positive data on the availability of oral medications, particularly antibiotics, in these nations.

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