Newspapers' coverage of contaminated intravenous fluids
-------------------------------------------------------
Dear e-drugger
Core was an Indian intravenous fluids manufacturer. It was the main supplier of governemnt medical store in Sudan during 1990s. Its products were suspected to be contaminated. The incident was widely publicised in the media and national press. Bellow is an abstract of an article published in Health Policy (online) in January 2011 about the media coverage and its effect on decision making process.
Objectives: This study aims to answer the question whether or not newspapers have a role in decision-making process in non-democratic settings.
Method: This cross-sectional study has reviewed newspapers’ articles published in Sudan about the questioned quality of intravenous fluid imported by Sudan Central Medical Supplies Public Corporation. It covered the period from 17 January 1999 to 8 October2007. A
total number of 310 articles published in 18 newspapers about the topic was retrieved.
Results: Of the total number, 165 (53.2%) articles were against the selling of the suspiciously contaminated intravenous fluids from Core Parentral (the Indian manufacturer of the products). The remaining 143 (46.1%) articles are in favor of selling such fluids.
Conclusion: Health authorities need to have good communication with media. The incident has proven that the lack of this communication is harmful both for the health authorities and for the population.
Yours sincerely
Gamal Khalafalla Mohamed Ali
PhD, MSc, PG Dip. (Health Econ.), B.Pharm (Hon)
Mobile +249912318615
Central Medical Supplies Public Corporation (CMS)
Director General
e-mail: gamalkh@cms.gov.sd
P.O. Box 11995
Khartoum
Sudan