[e-drug] Storage of drugs matters (cont'd)

[Mary Ojoo <mojoo@gerties.org>]

E-drug: Storage of drugs matters (cont'd)
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I recently paid visits to our suppliers (wholesalers). Some of their
storage practices were horrifying, like insulins being kept in the
freezer and allowed to thaw before being supplied! Some were not
even aware of the implications on their storage practices! There
were those who were fantastic while others were definitely out of
step. 

Of course I could now link to why sometimes a doctor would claim
that a certain drug is not producing desired results despite it being a
well known brand and from a reputable manufacturer. Is there
training on good storage practices that these middle men
(wholesalers) can attend? 

Dr Mary Milcah Atieno Ojoo
Chief Pharmacist
Gertrudes Garden Childrens Hospital
P O Box 42325
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 254 02 763474-7
fax: 254 02 763281
E-mail: mojoo@gerties.org

[Mary is touching on a very important point here: the private sector
has so far received insufficient attention in drug supply and use
issues. We spent an awful amount of time and energy on improving
practices in the public sector, while the private sector is nowadays
playing the major role in drug supply and use. I think governments
can no longer afford to ignore the private sector. And just as
important, drafting new legislations will probably do little to improve
things, as in most developing countries there are not that many
possibilities to enforce them. So, we will need to find other ways of
improving practices in the private sector. Training, as Mary
suggests, may be one of the options, but I have become somewhat
skeptical about the impact of training based interventions, if it does
not come with anything else. I would appreciate hearing other
opinions on this. HH]


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