To improve the existing situation, the following measures are recommended:
Policy & regulation
• Proclaim current legislation for the implementation of proclamation 176/199.
• Revise the NDP and national EDL in the light of current developments.
• Develop NDP implementation plan that sets responsibilities, budget and time line.
• Apply uniform registration requirements on both locally produced and imported products, irrespective of the sector;
• Ensure that local manufacturers comply with GMP requirements through proper certification ;
• Establish linkage between product registration and GMP inspection of manufacturers abroad
Accessibility
• Increase drug budget allocation to improve availability of essential drugs
• Upgrade the drug supply management skills of health personnel working at different levels
Quality
• Improve storage conditions in health facilities.
• Undertake post marketing quality monitoring of essential drugs
Rational Drug Use
• Conduct training on rational use of drugs for prescribers and dispensers
• Improve the dispersing practice by allocating enough resource for dispensing inputs
• Distribute STGs, EDL and other reference materials to improve prescribing practices and drug selection in facilities
• Strengthen the public education and drug information dissemination initiatives;
• Establish/revitalize Drugs & Therapeutic Committees in Public Health Care facilities
• Introduce audit & feed back systems on the practice of prescribers & dispensers
General
• Undertake further in depth study on areas where shortcomings were noted in order to explore underlying causes and design specific interventions;
REFERENCES
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3. TGE (1993). National drug policy of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa: TGE
4. FDRE (1999). Drug Administration and Control Proclamation. Addis Ababa: the House of Representatives, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 29 June, 1999.
5. DACA (2001). List of Drugs for Ethiopia. Addis Ababa: Drug Administration and Control Authority, July, 2001.
6. MOH (1987): List of Essential Drugs for People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa: MOH
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