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Pricing and availability of some essential child specific medicines in Odisha

Trupti Rekha Swain1, Bandana Rath2, Suhasini Dehury1

  • 1Department of Pharmacology, SCB Medical College, Cuttack, India.

Indian Journal of Pharmacology
|November 25, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Availability of essential children's medicines is poor in Odisha, India. Prices are high in private and NGO sectors, hindering access and contributing to child mortality.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric pharmacology
  • Public health
  • Health economics

Background:

  • High child mortality in Odisha necessitates improved access to essential medicines.
  • Continuous availability and affordability of pediatric formulations are critical for reducing child morbidity and mortality.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To document the availability and prices of essential child-specific medicines in Odisha.
  • To assess medicine availability across public, private, and NGO/mission sectors.

Main Methods:

  • A survey of 34 essential medicines was conducted in six districts of Odisha.
  • Data collection followed the WHO/Health Action International medicine price collection methodology.
  • Availability and pricing data were gathered from public, private, and NGO/mission sector outlets.

Main Results:

  • Mean medicine availability was low: 17% in the public sector and 21.8% in the other sector.
  • Private sector availability was 10.8% (high-priced) and 38.5% (lowest-priced).
  • Medicines in private and NGO sectors were priced significantly higher than international reference prices (1.83x and 2.08x, respectively).

Conclusions:

  • Poor availability of children's medicines in public facilities in Odisha requires urgent attention.
  • High costs in private and NGO sectors limit access to essential pediatric medicines.
  • Improving medicine availability is crucial to enhance access for children in Odisha.
Abstract

Keywords:
Availabilitychildrendrug pricingessential medicines

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