Pediatric Pharmacotherapy Issues in Africa
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CONFERENCE PAPER
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Pediatric Pharmacotherapy Issues in Africa Andy Gray Department of Therapeutics and Medicines Management, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa
Abstract
Pediatric pharmacotherapy in Africa is constrained by a variety of factors, not all of them unique to the continent. While affordability of medicines and the availability of sustainable financing for healthcare are constant challenges to African health systems, other issues of particular importance for pediatric care are also hampering access. These include the burden of disease in such settings, the lack of appropriate human resources for health, and the lack of child-appropriate dosage forms, especially for ambulatory care. Access to medicines for children has been recognized as a global priority. Examples of developments that have the potential to improve pediatric pharmacotherapy in resource-constrained settings are the WHO Essential Medicines List for Children and the ‘Make medicines child size’ campaign.
Any discussion of the challenges of delivering healthcare in Africa, whether specifically to children or to the whole population, must first consider the extraordinary size and diversity of the continent. Our view of the world has to a large extent been conditioned by the dominant map projections used to depict reality in two dimensions. However, when viewed on the Peters Projection (an area-accurate map), the size of the African continent is immediately apparent.[1] Not only is Africa large, but conditions vary dramatically between and within countries, by almost all parameters. The WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) region includes 46 member states (including the Indian Ocean island nations).[2] The proportion of the population
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