[e-drug] More Gates funding for public-private seller initiatives in East Africa

["E-drug" <e-drug@healthnet.org>]

E-DRUG: More Gates funding for public-private seller initiatives in East
Africa
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[After sponsoring similar projects through the SEAM initiative, Gates now
comes back to fund the further development of the public-private sector drug
seller initiative. WB]

http://www.msh.org/news_room/news_releases/28jan08.html

MSH Receives $2.8 Million Grant from Gates Foundation to Support
Private-Sector Drug Seller Initiatives in East Africa


CAMBRIDGE, MA (JANUARY 28, 2008)-Management Sciences for Health (MSH) has
received a three-year, $2.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation to implement a strategy to improve people's access to medicines
in developing countries. 

The MSH program, which will be carried out in East Africa, will create a
sustainable model to replicate and scale up private-sector drug seller
initiatives based on the Accredited Drug Dispensing Outlet (ADDO) program in
Tanzania. The resulting model and experiences will serve as examples for
other countries and regions facing similar challenges in increasing access
to medicines.

The East African Drug Seller Initiative addresses the problem of people in
developing countries seeking advice and medicines from retail drug sellers
who are largely untrained and unregulated. As a result, customers are less
likely to receive quality pharmaceutical care and products or to be
counseled on proper medicines and their correct doses. 

To achieve the initiative's goal, MSH will focus on three objectives that
rely on collaboration with regional and country organizations; they are to:

Help a regional organization become an advocate and facilitator for the
implementation of private-sector drug seller initiatives in member
countries;
  
Revise the current ADDO model in Tanzania to strengthen its financial
sustainability and institutionalize the public/private partnership roles to
provide a scalable model for other countries; and
  
Develop a plan to adapt the ADDO model for replication in a second East
African country and demonstrate the adapted model in one district. 
This grant builds on earlier MSH accomplishments through the Strategies for
Enhancing Access to Medicines (SEAM) Program, also funded by the Gates
Foundation. From 2000-2005, the program worked to improve access to quality
medicines and services at retail drug outlets that often provide first-line
health care, especially for those who live in remote, underserved areas. The
results from SEAM form the foundation for the East African Drug Sellers
Initiative. 

 
For additional information or to arrange for a press interview, please
contact Diane Fusilli, Director of Communications at 617.250.9312 or
dfusilli@msh.org.