Global Presence

The East African Drug Seller Initiative (EADSI) will create a sustainable model to replicate and scale up private-sector drug seller initiatives based on Tanzania's accredited drug dispensing outlet (ADDO) project. The resulting model will be evaluated in one pilot region compared to a control region and experiences and a finalized model will be made available to help other countries facing similar challenges in increasing access to essential medicines. The initiative addresses the problem of people in developing countries seeking advice and medicines from retail drug sellers who are largely untrained and unregulated. As a result, customers are less likely to receive quality pharmaceutical care and products or to be counseled on proper medicines and their correct doses.

The initiative’s goals include:

• Developing a regional strategy to support the implementation of a stainable private-sector drug seller initiatives.
• Strengthening the Tanzania ADDO model to facilitate scaling up and sustainability.
• Developing a plan to replicate the ADDO model to scale in a second East African country (Uganda) and demonstrating the adapted model in one district (Kibale).
• Creating and disseminating an ADDO “tool kit” to facilitate adoption and adaptation of the approach by other countries.

The EADSI project in Uganda recently celebrated the launch of Accredited Dispensing Outlets in the western district of Kibaale.