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Market intelligence data, United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics for insulin trade, the International Medical Products Price Guide for prices of human insulin and additional web searches were used as data sources. A total of 34 insulin manufacturers were identified. Most countries and territories are reliant on a limited number of supplying countries. The overall median government procurement price for a 10‐ml, 100‐IU/ml vial during the period 1996–2013 equivalent was US$4.3, with median prices in Africa and low-income and low‐ to middle‐ income countries being higher over this period.This research shows the high variability of insulin prices and the reliance on a few sources, both companies and countries, for global supply. In addressing access to insulin, countries need to use existing price data to negotiate prices, and mechanisms need to be developed to foster competition and security of supply of insulin, given the limited number of truly global producers.

Stillbirth rates in Afghanistan have declined little in the past decade with no data available on key risk factors. Health care utilisation and maternal complications are important factors influencing pregnancy outcomes but rarely captured for stillbirth in national surveys from low‐ and middle‐income countries. The 2010 Afghanistan Mortality Survey (AMS) is one of few surveys with this information. We used data from the 2010 AMS that included a full pregnancy history and verbal autopsy. Our sample included the most recent live birth or stillbirth of 13 834 women aged 12‐49 years in the three years preceding the survey. The risk of stillbirth was increased among women in the Central Highlands and of Nuristani ethnicity. Women who did not receive antenatal care had three times increased risk of stillbirth, while high‐quality antenatal care was important for reducing the risk of intrapartum stillbirth. Bleeding, infection, headache, and reduced fetal movements were antenatal complications strongly associated with stillbirth. Reduced fetal movements in the delivery period increased stillbirth risk by almost seven. Facility births had a higher risk of stillbirths overall, but not for intrapartum stillbirths. Targeted interventions are needed to improve access and utilisation of services for high‐risk groups. Early detection of complications through improved quality of antenatal and obstetric care is imperative. We demonstrate the potential of household surveys to provide country‐specific evidence on stillbirth risk factors for LMICs where data are lacking.

The aim of this study was to assess the uptake and determinants of HIV testing among men in Malawi. Secondary data analysis was conducted on cross–sectional household data for 7,478 men aged 15 to 54 years drawn from the 2015–16 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey. Overall, 69.9% of the participants had ever been tested for HIV. The results indicate that age, region of residence, marital status, coverage by health insurance, education and age at first sexual debut are significant predictors of HIV testing among men in Malawi. The findings suggest that HIV testing services and programmes need to target younger unmarried men aged 15–19 and men with low level or no education and expand HIV testing services to the central and southern regions of Malawi. Targeting the undiagnosed men living with HIV in a timely manner is a crucial and necessary step not only for achieving the UNAIDS 90–90–90 targets but for individuals to benefit from antiretroviral treatment and to sustainably reduce population–level HIV transmission.

Managed entry agreements (MEAs)—a type of formal institutional arrangement between pharmaceutical companies and payers for sharing the risk with respect to the introduction of new pharmaceutical technologies—may expand access to new pharmaceutical technologies for non-communicable diseases. Although common in high-income countries (HICs), there is limited evidence of their use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This article aims to document international experiences of countries implementing MEAs and potential barriers and facilitators for their use in LMICs. We reviewed published literature sources on MEAs over the past 10 years considering peer-reviewed publications and gray literature data. While the use of MEAs in LMICs is very limited, this could be the result of limited empirical evidence on its use and possibly due to the use of a different taxonomy for describing MEAs in these settings. Since there is limited evidence on their use in LMICs, the identified cases of implementation in HICs may serve to inform the interest on MEAs in resource limited settings. Therefore, further research in this field especially in the context of LMICs may be of value for the global community as all countries are embarking into fairer and sustainable Universal Health Coverage.

Persistent dyslipidemia in children is associated with risks of cardiovascular accidents and poor combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) outcome. We report on the first evaluation of prevalence and associations with dyslipidemia due to HIV and cART among HIV-infected Ethiopian children. High prevalence of cART-associated dyslipidemia, particularly low HDLc and hypertriglyceridemia, was observed among treatment-experienced HIV-infected children. The findings underscore the need for regular follow-up of children on cART for lipid abnormalities.

In Kenyatta National Hospital, a leading hospital in Kenya, over 30% of expenditure is currently allocated to medicines, and this needs to be optimally managed. We used inventory control techniques, ABC (Always, Better, and Control), VEN (Vital, Essential, and Non-essential) and ABC-VEN matrix analyses to study drug expenditure patterns. Of an average of 811 medicine types procured annually, 80% were formulary drugs and 20% were non-formulary. Class A medicines constituted 13.2–14.2% of different medicines procured each year but accounted for an average of 80% of total annual drug expenditure. Class B medicines constituted 15.9–17% of all the drugs procured yearly but accounted for 15% of the annual expenditure, whilst Class C medicines constituted 70% of total medicines procured but only 5% of the total expenditure. Vital and essential medicines consumed the highest percentage of drug expenditure. ABC-VEN categorization showed that an average of 31% of medicine types consumed an average of 85% of total drug expenditure. Therapeutic category and morbidity patterns analysis showed a mismatch between drug expenditure and morbidity patterns in over 85% of the categories. We concluded that Class A medicines are few but consume the largest proportion of hospital drug expenditure. Vital and essential items account for the highest drug expenditure, and need to be carefully managed. ABC-VEN categorization identified medicines where major savings could potentially be made helped by therapeutic category and morbidity pattern analysis. There was a high percentage of non-formulary items, which needs to be addressed. Inventory control techniques should be applied routinely to optimize medicine use within available budgets, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

This study used a mixed methods evaluation to determine the effect of a targeted health insurance scheme on access to affordable quality maternal and child care, and assess implementation fidelity and how this affected programme outcomes. A total of 90 in-depth interviews (IDIs) and five focus group discussions were conducted among respondents from management, facility and community. The scheme achieved high coverage among the target population and reduced the amount paid for antenatal and delivery care; however, there was no effect on service coverage and limited effects on quality of care. Better communication of programme benefits is needed to enhance effects together with integration of such schemes within existing purchasing mechanisms and in financially decentralised health systems.

This study examined provider barries to uptake of isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) at 67 government health facilities providing tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) services across Ethiopia. Clinician impression that ruling out active TB among HIV patients is difficult was found to be a significant barrier to IPT uptake. Continued advancement of IPT relies greatly on improving the ability of providers to determine IPT eligibility and more confidently care for patients on IPT. Improved clinician support and training as well as development of new TB diagnostic technologies could impact IPT utilization among providers.