E-DRUG: "Stop the Stock-Outs" Campaign Launched in Africa
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[http://stopstockouts.org/ WB]
"Stop the Stock-Outs" Campaign Launched in Africa
February 26, 2009
At a meeting in Nairobi, civil society organizations from across east
and southern Africa have launched a campaign aimed at ensuring access to
essential medicines. The campaign, supported by the Open Society
Institute, will focus on ending widespread "stock-outs" of medicines in
public health facilities in Africa.
Throughout Africa, at any given moment, public health facilities have in
stock only about half of a core set of medicines used to treat common
diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, HIV, TB, diabetes, and
hypertension - all of which are among the highest causes of death in
Africa.
These stock-outs can have devastating impacts on poor people, especially
those living in rural areas. Access to free or cheap medicines
determines whether people live or die, suffer pain and discomfort, or
have their ailments cured, recover from illness, or endure lifelong
disease.
Campaign participants are calling on governments in Africa to commit to
having essential medicines on pharmacy shelves, with the slogan, "Stop
the Stock-Outs, and Ensure Access to Essential Medicines for All!"
Specifically, the campaign is calling on governments and health
departments to enact the following recommendations:
.Give financial and operational autonomy to the national medicines
procurement and supply agency.
.Install civil society representation on the board of the national
medicines procurement and supply agency.
.End corruption in the medicine supply chain to stop theft and diversion
of essential medicines.
.Provide a dedicated budget line for essential medicines.
.Fulfil commitments to spend 15 percent of national budgets on health
care.
.Provide free essential medicines at all public health institutions.
At the regional level, the campaign will be spearheaded by HAI-Africa
and Oxfam. There will also be country-level campaigns in Kenya, Uganda,
Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and Madagascar. The country partners are
listed online at http://stopstockouts.org/partners.
The Kenya campaign launched the "Stop the Stock-Outs" campaign in
Nairobi on February 26, 2009. The launch included a press conference and
a public forum on medicines. The forum included testimony from
consumers, a recited verse on health and human rights, short
presentations by policymakers and civil society, and an open plenary
discussion.
Further information on the campaign is available at
www.stopstockouts.org
Contact:
Jane Li
jli@sorosny.org