Access to medicines in Senegal: results of a sample survey

The survey was conducted in Senegal in April 2001 on a representative sample of providers and clients. Results show that access to medicines in Senegal was limited for three main reasons: (1) the supply of drugs was inadequate, and even critical drugs were often missing in health centres, and were s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTropical doctor Vol. 36; no. 1; p. 5
Main Authors Garenne, M, Candau, D, Guimier, J-M, Badiane, M, Diop, A C, Teulières, L C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.01.2006
Subjects
Adult
Delivery of Health Care
Drug Costs - statistics & numerical data
Female
Health Care Costs
Health Care Surveys
Health Services - statistics & numerical data
Health Services Accessibility
Health Services Needs and Demand
Humans
Male
Pharmaceutical Preparations - economics
Pharmaceutical Preparations - supply & distribution
Pharmacies - statistics & numerical data
Senegal
Socioeconomic Factors
Senegal
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Summary:The survey was conducted in Senegal in April 2001 on a representative sample of providers and clients. Results show that access to medicines in Senegal was limited for three main reasons: (1) the supply of drugs was inadequate, and even critical drugs were often missing in health centres, and were somewhat less in pharmacies; (2) the health infrastructures appeared insufficient to cover the needs of the whole population, creating high opportunity costs; (3) the cost of the drugs prescribed was higher than the minimum price, sometimes exceeding the capacity of poorer people, although high cost was seldom reported as the main reason for not acquiring prescribed drugs. Improving access to medicine is a priority to help reduce health inequalities in developing countries.
ISSN:0049-4755
DOI:10.1258/004947506775598851