WHO and HAI Africa release African medicine price surveys

The World Health Organization and Health Action International for Africa (HAI Africa) have published their findings from drug price surveys carried out in 2004 and 2005, across 11 African countries.

Alimata Diarra-Nama, director of health systems and services development at the WHO's Regional Office for Africa, said: "prices of originator brands of medicine found in private sector outlets were found to be as much as seven times higher than the prices of their generic equivalents." However, the report noted that there were wide variations of prices within regions as well as from one country to another.

The major survey findings were discussed by various workshops organized by the WHO and the HAI Africa, with a number of recommendations coming forward for improving accessibility. These are: improving availability of drugs in the public sector; promoting generic prescription and substitution of medicines; improving availability and appropriate use of generic products; providing reliable information on drug prices; improving efficiency of medicine supply and procurement systems; undertaking continuous monitoring of procurement and prices paid by patients and regularly providing up-to-date information on the prices of medicine; and removing import taxes and levies on essential drugs.