Browsing by Author "Girma, Tesfahun"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Assessment of Medicine Regulatory Performance In South - West Ethiopia: The Case of Ilu-Ababora Zone, Oromia Regional State
    (Addis Ababa University, 2023) Girma, Tesfahun; Habte, Bruck Messele(PhD); Fato,Abdulkadir Wolyei
    Introduction: The implications of ineffective pharmaceuticals regulation is becoming a major problem worldwide. Therefore, in order to address this issue and provide access to high-quality medications, every country should meet the minimum standards of a functional pharmaceuticals regulation. Objective: - To assess medicine regulatory performance in Ilu-Ababora zone, Oromia regional state, south west Ethiopia Methods: A sequential mixed methods (quantitative method followed by qualitative research approaches) was conducted from July to September 2022 G.C. in Ilu-Ababora zone using document review, simulated client visit method and semi-structured interviews. The study participants were regulatory professionals and healthcare providers working in Zonal Health Office, selected Woreda Health Offices and both public and private medicine retail outlets including private clinics. The data was analyzed using descriptive methods for the quantitative part and thematic analysis for the qualitative part. Results: Majority 91.66% of retail outlets from the total 24 issued non prescribed antibiotics at three distinct demand levels. In Ilu-Ababora zone there were 3,944 human health related facilities to be inspected by the zonal health department regulatory teams in collaboration with each woredas regulatory teams. But, at the zonal health department there were only two inspectors. All the woredas except Mettu City Administration, which has two inspectors, has one or none inspectors assigned. They didn’t have separate vehicle as well as no budget breakdown for regulatory activities. The regulatory performance is currently very poor. Performance influencing factors like widening of control area, scarcity of resources, capacity building problem, information iv leakage, lack of attention from the stakeholders, communication-related issues, and lack of awareness from the society were identified. Increased circulation of unsafe products, compromising patient’s quality of care, and monetary costs were reported as major concerns. As important interventional tactics, sector experts suggested enhancing capacity building techniques, involving sector stakeholders, and strengthening the regulatory structure. Conclusion: Despite the availability of comprehensive medicine regulations in Ethiopia, the results of this study show that the enforcement of these regulations is weak and the way regulations are currently being implemented in this area is not very effective and is still in the early stages of development.