Snap survey reveals medicine stockouts still plague Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia

During ‘pill check week’, researchers visited public health institutions countrywide and checked on the availability of a list of 10 essential medicines. These are medicines that should be readily available in public health facilities.

Using innovative technology, the team then reported the results through short messaging services (SMS) to a common site, and the data has been reflected in the map above that shows areas where medication is out of stock.

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“Dorothy” : a video interview

“Dorothy”, who prefers not to use her real name, is a nurse at a public health facility in Kisumu, Kenya. She feels that stock-outs are dangerous in that a doctor never knows for sure if a patient has been taking their prescribed medicine which makes treating their condition even more complicated. She spoke at the public forum in Kisumu and was willing to share with us some of her opinions about medicine stock-outs. Watch the video interview below.

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