1 IJPH
International Journal of Public Health ORIGINAL ARTICLE published: 06 July 2022 doi: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604375
SSPH+
Evaluation of Availability, Prices, and Affordability of Selected Essential Medicines in Balochistan, Pakistan
Murad Bibi1 *, Noman UI Haq', Abdul Kareem2, Habib Ullah2, Nizam Baloch ', Gulalai Rehman2 and Aqeel Nasim2
Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Balochistan, Quetta, PakistanBalochistan Institute of Nephrology Urology Quetta BINUQ, Quetta, Pakistan
Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate the availability, prices, and affordability of selected essential medicines in Balochistan, Pakistan.
Methods: Cross-sectional research was conducted in several cities of Balochistan, Pakistan, using the World Health Organization/Health Action International methodology to assess the availability and cost of 50 originator brand (OB) and lowest priced generic
employee was used to determine affordability.
Results: The mean availability was low for OBs (9.8%) and fairly high (49.4%) for LPGs. The OBs and LPGs' mean availability in the private sector were fairly high, 51.8% and 42.6%, respectively. It was surprising to see that Balochistan's public sector has only 24.3% of the National Essential Medicine List when the medicines on this list are supposed to be adequately available.
OPEN ACCESS
Edited by: Nino Kuenzli, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Switzerland *Correspondence: Murad Bibi drmuradbibi09@gmail.com This Original Article is part of the IUPH Special Issue "Health in All Sustainable Development Goals."
Conclusion: The standard treatment cost with OBs is steep, exceeding the minimum daily wage. Treatment with LPG medications seems affordable. Furthermore, essential LPG
Keywords: affordability, WHO, price, availability, essential medicine, Pakistan
INTRODUCTION
Access to medicines has helped enhance patient health outcomes and lower mortality rates [1]. Non- availability and excessive medicine pricing are two significant barriers to accessing medicines. In the past decades, little progress has been made to improve the availability essential medicines that remain unaffordable and unavailable to many poor patients, who cannot even afford their daily needs. Essential medicines satisfy the priority healthcare needs of the population. Their policies are crucial to promoting health and achieving sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goal 3.8 mentions the importance of "access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and
Received: 30 July 2021 Accepted: 20 May 2022 Published: 06 July 2022 Citation: Bibi M, Haq NU, Kareem A, Ullah H, Baloch N. Rehman G and Nasim A (2022) Evaluation of Availability, Prices, and Affordability of Selected Essentia Medicines in Balochistan, Pakistan Int J Public Health 67:1604375. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604375
Abbreviations: HAI, Health Action International; IRPs, international reference prices; LPG, lowest priced generic; MDGs, nillennium development goals; MPR, median price ratio; NEM, national essential medicine list; OB, originator brand; WHO, World Health Organization.
Int J Public Health | Owned by SSPH+ | Published by Frontiers
July 2022 | Volume 67 | Article 1604375
Bibi et al.
Availability, Prices, Affordability of Medicines
vaccines for all" [2]. To ensure access to medical treatment and METHODS achievement of their ultimate objective of improving their quality of life, public and private-sector patients must have sufficient The WHO/HAI methodology was used to undertake cross- access to medication