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Availability of Essential Medicines in a Country in Conflict: A Quantitative Insight from Yemen

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submitted on 2023-07-04, 12:05 and posted on 2023-07-04, 13:54 authored by Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim, Mohammed Alshakka, Nazeh Al-abd, Awsan Bahattab, Wafa Badulla

Background: Medicine and medical supplies are often in short supply in countries suffering from the scourge of conflict. Effective medicine supply policies are lacking in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly during conflict. This study aimed to assess the availability of essential medicines in both the public and private healthcare sectors. Methods: The study was conducted by administering a survey from November 2017 to February 2018 using the World Health Organization/Health Action International (WHO/HAI) guidelines and methodology. Thirty healthcare facilities in thirteen districts from three governorates in Yemen were included in the assessment of thirty essential medicines. The results were reported as frequencies and percentages of outlets with available medicines on the day of data collection. Results: A set of 30 vital and essential medicines were selected from the list of essential medicines that are used in healthcare centers in Yemen to treat prevalent diseases. In general, only 52.8% of the selected medicines were available in public and private healthcare settings. The distribution and availability of medicines in the three governorates were approximately equal. The availability of medicines was better in the private healthcare settings, specifically 73.3% in private hospitals and approximately 79.7% in private pharmacies. Conclusions: The availability of essential medicines during this state of conflict in three governorates in Yemen is low, in both public and private hospitals and healthcare centers. Many of the medications that were not available are used to treat chronic illnesses.

Other Information

Published in: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18010175

Funding

Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library

History

Language

  • English

Publisher

MDPI

Publication Year

  • 2020

License statement

This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Institution affiliated with

  • Qatar University
  • Qatar University Health - QU
  • College of Pharmacy - QU HEALTH

Geographic coverage

Yemen

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