Strengthening provision of essential medicines to women and children in post-Ebola Sierra Leone

Provision of essential medicines to end users is a critical component of many public health programs and one of six building blocks of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Health Systems Framework [1]. In 2015, PIH partnered with the Kono District Health Management Team and leadership from Koidu Go...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of global health 2019-06, Vol.9 (1), p.010307-010307
Main Authors: Kahn, Rebecca, Bangura, Sheriff, Hann, Katrina, Salvi, Ameet, Gassimu, Joseph, Kabba, Alpha, Mesman, Annelies W, Dierberg, Kerry L, Marsh, Regan H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child
Child mortality
Children & youth
Drug stores
Drugs, Essential - supply & distribution
Ebola virus
Epidemics
Expenditures
Female
Global health
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola - epidemiology
Hospitals
Human resources
Humans
Inventory
Inventory management
Investments
Logistics
Operating costs
Patients
Pediatrics
Pharmaceuticals
Pharmacy
Public health
Sanitation
Sierra Leone - epidemiology
Success
Viewpoints
Womens health
Workforce planning
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Summary:Provision of essential medicines to end users is a critical component of many public health programs and one of six building blocks of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Health Systems Framework [1]. In 2015, PIH partnered with the Kono District Health Management Team and leadership from Koidu Government Hospital (KGH) with the goal of improving health care through public health system strengthening. Table 1 Pre and post program staffing levels and service delivery outcomes Pre (Nov 2012 – Aug 2013) Post (Nov 2015 – Aug 2016) % increase Pharmacy staff No of FTE Pharmacist 1 3 200% Pharmacy technician 1 7 600% M&E analysts 0 1 Inf Logistics staff 1 1 0% Total 3 12 300% Patient census No. of patients Pediatric and maternity admissions 2392 3518 47% Deliveries 418 814 95% FTE – Full-time equivalent, M&E – Monitoring & Evaluation, Inf – infinity Drug distribution To ensure patients received essential medicines as quickly as possible, we decentralized the storage and dispensing points at KGH by establishing two additional pharmacies on the pediatrics and maternity wards, staffed by the newly hired pharmacy technicians to dispense medicines daily. The estimates also do not capture the impact of improved trust, enhanced patient care and likely reduced mortality rates that resulted from the 100% availability of essential medicines and the creation of a reliable supply chain system.
ISSN:2047-2978
2047-2986
DOI:10.7189/jogh.09.010307