McCabe, ArianeSeiter, AndreasDiack, AissatouHerbst, Christopher H.Dutta, SheilaSaleh, Karima2013-05-282013-05-282011-08https://hdl.handle.net/10986/13590Sustainable access to affordable, high-quality medicines is an important component in all health care systems but remains limited in many African countries. Supply and distribution of medicines are a fundamental aspect of the success of any health system. Disruptions to this supply undermine health outcomes as supply chains have an impact on the availability, cost, and quality of medicines for patients. Common problems associated with the supply and distribution of pharmaceuticals often include poor supply chain management, stock pilfering, insufficient human resources, and limited financing resulting in chronic stock outs. In resource-poor settings where public services fail to meet demand, the private and voluntary sectors are increasingly being called on, prompting some policy makers to consider private mechanisms as alternatives to state-run drug procurement and distribution systems. This study reviews some of the ways in which some countries in Africa organize their private pharmaceutical supply and distribution channels, focusing on three diverse countries: Ghana, Malawi, and Mali. It discusses some of the strengths and challenges associated with such arrangements, as well as relevant options to improve access, availability, quality and affordability of privately supplied pharmaceuticals.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO PRODUCTSACCOUNTABILITYADVERTISINGANALGESICSANTIMALARIALSARTISANSASPIRINBAR CODESBATCH NUMBERSBATCHESBRANDBRAND NAMEBRAND NAME PRODUCTSBRAND NAMESBRANDSBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTBUSINESS MODELBUSINESS MODELSBUSINESS PARTNERSBUSINESSESBUYERBUYERSCAPABILITIESCARTONSCERTIFICATIONCHEMISTSCLINICSCOLD CHAINCOLLECTION OF DATACOMMODITIESCOMMODITYCOMMUNICABLE DISEASESCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTCOMPETITIVENESSCOMPUTER SYSTEMSCONSUMER DEMANDCONSUMER EDUCATIONCONSUMER PRICESCORRUPTIONDELIVERY SERVICESDELIVERY SYSTEMDIABETESDISCLOSUREDISTRIBUTION CHANNELDISTRIBUTION CHANNELSDISTRIBUTION NETWORKDISTRIBUTION OF PHARMACEUTICALSDISTRIBUTION SYSTEMDISTRIBUTION SYSTEMSDOMESTIC MANUFACTURERSDRUG DONATIONSDRUG TESTINGDRUGSECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTELECTRICITYELECTRONIC PAYMENTELECTRONIC PROCUREMENTEQUIPMENTESSENTIAL DRUGSEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURESFAIRFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL INVESTMENTFINANCIAL SERVICEFINANCIAL SERVICESFINANCIAL SUPPORTFINISHED PRODUCTSFLOW OF GOODSFLOW OF INFORMATIONFOREIGN CURRENCYFOREIGN EXCHANGEGENERIC DRUGSGENERIC PRODUCTSGOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICESGOVERNMENT CONTRACTSGOVERNMENT POLICIESGOVERNMENT POLICYGOVERNMENT SERVICESHARMONIZATIONHEALTH CAREHEALTH CARE WORKERSHEALTH INSURANCEHEALTH OUTCOMESHEALTH SERVICESHOSPITALIZATIONHOSPITALSHUMAN RESOURCESHYPERTENSIONINSPECTIONINSPECTIONSINTERNATIONAL ACTORSINTERNATIONAL COMPANIESINTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONSINVENTORIESIRRATIONAL USELABORATORIESLAWSLEGAL SYSTEMSLICENSELICENSESLIFE EXPECTANCYLIMITED ACCESSLOCAL MANUFACTURERSLOGISTICS COMPANIESLOGISTICS SYSTEMMARKET COMPETITIONMARKET FAILURESMARKET FORCESMARKET INFORMATIONMARKET RESEARCHMARKET SHAREMARKET STUDIESMARKET VALUEMARKETINGMATERIALMEDICAL STORESMEDICAL SUPPLIESMEDICINEMEDICINESMIDDLEMENMORTALITYNEW MARKETSNEW TECHNOLOGIESNURSESNUTRITIONPACKAGINGPARASTATALSPATIENTPATIENTSPAYMENT TERMSPHARMACEUTICALPHARMACEUTICAL CONSUMPTIONPHARMACEUTICAL DISPENSINGPHARMACEUTICAL DISTRIBUTIONPHARMACEUTICAL DISTRIBUTION NETWORKSPHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRYPHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERSPHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURINGPHARMACEUTICAL POLICYPHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTIONPHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTSPHARMACEUTICAL SECTORPHARMACEUTICAL SERVICESPHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLIERSPHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLIESPHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLYPHARMACIESPHARMACISTSPHARMACOLOGYPHARMACYPHARMACY PRACTICESPILLPOOLED PROCUREMENTPRESCRIPTIONSPRIVATE PHARMACIESPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTORSPROCUREMENTPRODUCT MARKETPRODUCT PRICINGPRODUCT QUALITYPUBLIC EDUCATIONPUBLIC HEALTHPURCHASINGPURCHASING POWERQUALITY ASSURANCEQUALITY CONTROLQUALITY OF SERVICESQUININERADIORADIO-FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATIONREGULATORY AUTHORITIESREGULATORY ENVIRONMENTREGULATORY FRAMEWORKREGULATORY FRAMEWORKSRESULTRESULTSRETAILRETAIL OUTLETSRETAIL PHARMACIESRETAIL PRICESRETAIL SALESRETAILINGSALESSERVICE DELIVERYSERVICE PROVIDERSSITESSPREADSTOCK MANAGEMENTSTOCKSSTORAGE FACILITIESSTORAGE SPACESUBSTITUTIONSUPERVISIONSUPPLIERSUPPLIERSSUPPLY CHAINSUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENTSUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEMSUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONSSUPPLY CHAINSSUPPLY MANAGEMENTSUPPLY NETWORKSSUPPLY OF RAW MATERIALSTABLETSTARGETSTECHNICAL STAFFTHERAPIESTRADITIONAL MEDICINESTRANSPORT SYSTEMTURNOVERUSERUSER FEESUSERSVACCINESVALUE CHAINVITAMINSVOLATILITYWAREHOUSEWHOLESALE PRICESWHOLESALERWHOLESALERSWHOLESALINGWORKERSWORKING CAPITALWorld Bank10.1596/13590