E-drug: Re: Advertising and marketing of essential drugs
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Dear Belinda Assam,
It takes time to alter a behaviour. You will have to be patient for a
little while, but continue to deliver appealing messages...
The practice of buying medicines from markets and the roadside
may require another arm of intervention. We often look at it from
the Regulatory aspect.
Yes we have worked with communities and health workers here.
The reason why the poor like drugs from markets and streets is that
they often can't afford full doses of expensive and most often
unnecessary antimicrobials (or 'antibiotics'). At the same time,
untrained, unqualified vendors are always willing to sell underdoses
-- even where full doses are important.
So where licensed drug shops with qualified personnel exist, in
reasonable distance, let you Drug Regulatory Authority or Organ
Responsible for distribution of drugs ban the illegal distributors of
Essential medicines and supplies. And educate you citizens about
the dangers of buying drugs from the streets and markets.
You may also find it interesting to conduct a survey on why the
people of Cameroon like drugs from the markets, streets. With
quality pharmaceutical knowledge, you can develop educational
material and messages from what your citizens say about their
behaviour. Messages which address what people do, change
behaviour, in the long run. I call these kinds of messages appealing.
But messages which seem unfamiliar in style and content (which I
will call academic) are never 'interesting'and change in behaviour
can delay. Good luck.
George Kibumba, MPS
Teaching Assistant, Clinical Pharmacy,
Dept Of Pharmacy, Makerere University,
P.O.BOX 7072, Kampala, Uganda (E.Africa)
e-mail: kibumba@yahoo.com
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