Prioritization of Medicine Importation by the Private Sector in Sudan: Evidence from a Data Analysis, 2012-2015

The objective of this study is to analyze the annual medicines imported by private sector for the period between 2012 and 2015 with the help of priority system based on ABC-VEN matrix analysis and therapeutic category analysis.

A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted. The Always, Better, and Control (ABC) analysis based on drug expenditure and Vital, Essential, and Nonessential (VEN) analysis based on the criticality of the drugs was performed for annual importation in 2015.

Using ABC analysis, we found that 47 items (9.2%) accounted for 70% of the budget (class A), whereas a larger numbers of items (344; 67.2%) accounted for only 10% of the importation costs (class C). A moderate number of items (120; 23.5%) comprised 20% of the annual medicine importation value (class B). VEN analysis revealed that 89 items (17.4%) in the vital category constituted 41.6% of the importation value, whereas 349 (68.3%) grouped as essential constituted 45.1% of the value, and 73 (14.2%) of the items considered as nonessential medicines consumed only 13.3% of the total medicines imported in 2015. From the resultant ABC-VEN coupled matrix, three categories were created I, II and III.

In view of limited resources, it is important that the existing resources should be utilized appropriately. This study identified a range of suggestions for better medication importation. The ABC and VEN analyses along with the therapeutic category analysis technique are convenient, systematic, and replicable methods and should be adopted for optimization and prioritization of resources.