written by Daphne Northrop, video by Emily Judem

DEBRE MARKOS, Ethiopia — A dozen people crowd a small outside window at Debre Markos Hospital, jostling each other, angling to get to the pharmacist who might have the medicine they need. They have already waited in two other lines, one to get their bills, another to pay. An elderly man coughs uncontrollably. One mother with malaria walked two miles to the clinic, three children in tow. The pharmacist shouts to be heard over the racket.

Ultimately, some of these patients receive their medication. Others are too late; the stock bin is empty. Still others may have departed with just one of the several medicines prescribed to them.

Novartis launched [11] Novartis Access, a novel social business program, in collaboration with the Kenyan government, Management Sciences for Health (MSH), and other partners, on Thursday, October 15, at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).

Novartis Access is an industry first [12]: “a novel social business model that aims to deliver affordable medicines for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) also known as chronic disease in lower income countries”.

MSH’s partnership with Novartis, announced in September [13], is to enable governments in low- and middle- countries, beginning in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Vietnam, to provide better care for their chronic diseases population in need.

Kenyan Dignitaries Describe Country-Led Efforts on Chronic Diseases

The launch event kicked off October 15, at 10 am, East Africa Time, preceded by a tour of KNH. The launch was high level, graced by the presence of Kenyan dignitaries.

MSH's May 2015 newsletter [20] highlights the global health impact of pharmaceutical management: Ensuring access to affordable, quality medicines saves lives (subscribe [21]).

Introduction

by Jonathan D. Quick, MD, MPH [22]

Health care is largely dependent upon essential medicines for preventing infection, reducing pain, and treating illness. The development of effective medicines, however, is only the beginning.

Quality care means getting the right medicine, in the right dose, at an affordable price, for all the people who need it.

Accessible, affordable, and properly used medicines save lives. Major childhood killers like diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, and even HIV, are preventable or treatable with essential medicines. But for many children, where they live means the difference between life and death: some 30,000 children in developing countries die every year from diseases treatable with basic essential medicines.

We spoke with MSH’s Chryste D. Best, BS, product quality assurance manager, The Partnership for Supply Chain Management [26] (PFSCM), about her selection as one of the top 300 women leaders in global health by the Global Health Programme of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Best provides innovative quality assurance oversight for the global procurement of medicines and commodities by MSH and partners.

The Partnership for Supply Chain Management [30] (PFSCM), an organization formed through a partnership between Management Sciences for Health [31] (MSH) and John Snow Research & Training Institute, Inc. [32], (JSI R&T), uses an innovative consortium model that draws on the capabilities and experience of 13 internationally-renowned organizations. PFSCM harnesses this expertise to strengthen, develop and manage secure, reliable, cost-effective and sustainable supply chains to meet the needs of health care and other public services. Since 2009, PFSCM has leveraged this unique expertise to manage the Pooled Procurement Mechanism (PPM), previously known as Voluntary Pooled Procurement (VPP).

Funded by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria [33] (The Global Fund), PPM procures and delivers about $46.6 million in life-saving health care products monthly, including HIV and malaria medicines, test kits, and related commodities. As a managing partner in PPM, MSH has played a key role in the mechanism’s overall management and strategy.

Post updated December 19, 2014.

This post originally appeared on the Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program Blog [44]. Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Management Sciences for Health (MSH), SIAPS [38] works to assure the availability of quality pharmaceutical products and effective pharmaceutical services to achieve desired health outcomes.

On Friday, December 12, 2014, over 500 partners from the global health community will come together to commemorate the first Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day [45]. Although marking the day is new, support for the concept has been building for several years–-and momentum for it continues to grow [46]. Dr. Margaret Chan, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), framed it as “the single most powerful concept public health has to offer.”

Cross-posted with permission from Science Speaks Blog. [49]

The Value of Patient Support

Eight years ago Busisiwe Beko was undergoing treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) when, after months of waiting to see a pediatric specialist, her daughter was diagnosed with the same illness. The five-month-old baby was admitted to a TB hospital where she would receive treatment for seven months; Busisiwe, however, was turned away due to lack of space. Today, both mother and daughter are healthy. And, their experience with MDR-TB didn’t stop at their cure. Busisiwe went on to join Médecins Sans Frontières [50] as a counselor for MDR-TB patients in her community, providing the support and medication counseling that she wished she had received during treatment.

This post originally appeared on the SIAPS website [53].

After decades of relying on old medicines, new drugs designed specifically for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) are finally on the market. While these medicines represent a major advancement in the fight against TB, ensuring equitable access for patients is still an enormous challenge. At the 45th Union World Conference on Lung Health [54], the US Agency for International Development [55] (USAID)-funded Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services [56] (SIAPS) program, led by Management Sciences for Health (MSH), collaborated with the Stop TB Partnership Global Drug Facility [39] (GDF) to host a full-day workshop addressing common hurdles to treatment access, as well as available solutions.

The SIAPS program focused on three common challenges in medicines availability: quantification, public-private mixes, and medicines safety.

Dr. Trevor Mundel and other senior staff of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation traveled to Tanzania this summer to see first-hand the successes of Accredited Drug Dispensing Outlets (ADDO). The ADDO program, which began in 2001, grew out of the need to transform the duka la dawa biridis—unlicensed retail drug shops—into profitable, government-accredited drug dispensing outlets that supply quality medicines and services to underserved populations in Tanzania.

Dr. Mundel, Gates Foundation's President of Global Health, was hosted by Management Sciences for Health’s (MSH) Sustainable Drug Seller Initiatives [60] (SDSI) team along with Tanzania’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare through the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority [61] (TFDA) and the Pharmacy Council (PC). The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided generous funding to support Tanzania’s health sector—including the piloting, sustainability, and maintenance of the ADDO program.