Sheena Patel, Technical Advisor, and Kiley Workman, Project Associate Although the global community has had significant success in reducing maternal and child deaths in the past two decades, they continue to die of preventable causes at an alarming rate. This is especially pronounced for the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations. Universal access to maternal, newborn, … Read more
Reposted from msh.org. Used appropriately, medicines save lives, decrease effect or cure diseases, and improve quality of life. Medicines are also key determinants of health care quality, and can be among the most cost-effective uses of scarce health care resources. At the same time, management of medicines is a major source of inefficiencies in health care … Read more
By Edgar Barillas, Portfolio Manager; and Claire Dunn, Senior Project Associate Many countries in Central and South America have made significant progress toward eliminating malaria. Between 2000 and 2012, 13 countries in the Americas saw malaria incidence rates drop by more than 75%.[1] Argentina, Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, and Paraguay have all … Read more
Weak health information systems are a bottleneck for effective tuberculosis (TB) control. The emergence of drug‐resistant TB (DR-TB) increases the need for tools that allows effectively managed information on diagnosing, prescribing practices, treatment, and rational medicines use, while also supporting uninterrupted availability of anti-TB medicines. e-TB Manager is a system-strengthening, comprehensive electronic web-based information system, developed … Read more
By: Jean Bedel Evi Antiretroviral (ARV) medicines are a matter of life or death for people who are HIV-positive. In West Africa, the US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) is working to make sure people have uninterrupted access to these life-saving medicines. With support provided by the US President’s Emergency Plan … Read more
By Emmanuel Nfor The availability of new and essential medicines and other health technologies to treat life-threatening illnesses have helped millions of people lead long and productive lives. However, global availability does not necessarily mean access by the end-consumer to these lifesaving health products in low-and middle-income countries. Effective supply chains are needed to deliver … Read more
In commemoration of World Malaria Day, SIAPS joins the global health community in recognizing the remarkable strides that have been made in the fight against malaria. More than ever, people in malaria-endemic countries, especially those who are particularly vulnerable like mothers and children, are receiving effective prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services and have better access … Read more
Today SIAPS joins people around the world commemorating World TB Day. This year’s theme, “Reach the 3 million,” is a call worldwide to find, treat and cure the undetected TB cases left behind in the fight against TB. Read about the first Conference on Pharmaceutical Management for TB and M/XDR-TB for the WHO European Region, … Read more
The highest rate of multi-drug resistant (M) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) cases of tuberculosis (TB) is found in the WHO European Region. The Consolidated Action Plan to Prevent and Combat M/XDR-TB in the WHO European Region specifies that, by the end of 2013, all member states assure provision of an interrupted supply of quality first- … Read more
Successfully combating the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic requires that national TB programs (NTPs) prevent new infections and ensure that current patients are cured. Although the treatment for drug-sensitive TB is very effective, curing the disease requires that patients adhere to a strict daily regimen of multiple pills for six to nine months. Adding to the challenge … Read more
