E-drug: The backbone of correct use of drugs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Friends,
Sustainable Management of Essential Medicines by Re-structuring
Ministries of Health: A Personal View.
Without appropriate infrastructure, it is difficult to manage essential
drugs and medicines. And from face value, certain structures are
absent in health management systems. The only problem, however,
is that adequate analysis of facts is lacking. We have been
stereotyped with words like: 'where is the evidence for that
argument.' Indeed evidence is needed. But before logically
analysing facts prior to seeking evidence, our studies, and
intervention(s) may never have positive and sustainable; short-term
and long-term impacts.
The bother here is that developing countries are often regarded as
'inferior' and unready to have adequately trained and essential
professionals. My personal view is that developing countries need
technical and relevantly trained workers more than the developed
world! Let us focus our attention on the health sector in Uganda.
In Uganda, our infrastructure (at Ministry level) has to be adjusted
for sustainable and quality drug management to be realized. We
need a policy in the ministry that will make it possible to improve
diagnostic, nursing and pharmaceutical services. These three
aspects of health care are the backbone of correct use of essential
medicines.
In this vein, I wrote an article for a future edition of The Uganda
Health Bulletin. The Bulletin is designed for health policy makers
and is about poverty and disease. For those of you interested,
please drop me a line and I'd be happy to send it to anyone who
may need it. You may find it valuable for your work. The views are
mine as a Ugandan Pharmacist with hands-on experience in the
Ugandan health sector.
Sincerely,
George Kibumba, MPS
Community and Drug Information Pharmacist / Uganda
Personal e-mail: kibumba@yahoo.com
Office e-mail: did.jms@imul.com
[I could not agree more with George's statement that adequate
analysis of facts is often lacking in policy making in health care
systems. Structures and interventions are all too often implemented
on the basis of the fashion of the day, or on what high level
decision makers think is necessary to improve health care delivery.
Only much later we learn that key participants of the sector did not
want to collaborate, that the intervention did not work and that
money was wasted. I think I disagree in that developing countries
are regarded as 'inferior' and unready to have adequately trained
professionals. I would say that priorities are sometimes assigned
incorrectly and that many people (still) believe that even when
cutting corners in human resources assignment and not providing
adequate training, quality care can still be delivered. I have stopped
believing that this is possible. So yes, well trained staff in sufficient
numbers are absolutely necessary. In both the developing world and
the industrialised world! Thank George for your willingness to share
such important discussion documents. It would be good if more
E-druggers would do so. HH]
--
Send mail for the `E-Drug' conference to `e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.
Information and archive http://satellife.healthnet.org/programs/edrug.html
Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'.
For additional assistance, send mail to: `owner-e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.