|
Magnitude of drug resistance increasing
2006-09-05 08:03:47
By Judica Tarimo
Resistange to drugs is becoming a problem in the country. People develop drug resistance, because of many factors which include excessive use of the same type of drugs for too long, climate and nature of environment, etc.
It has now been a norm all over the world as drug resistance is forcing countries to spend a huge amounts of money to replace the same medication especially which have proved scientifically to bring no relief to patients.
In Tanzania, for instance, the government has been spending huge sums of the tax-payers money to change drugs periodically. Malaria drugs are a good example of this issue as their treatment efficacy have decreased.
For years, chroloquine had been used as the country’s first-line drugs for malaria treatment.
Normally, drugs are sold in retail medical outlets – pharmacies and stores across the country and people were satisfied with its efficacy.
However, after some scientific studies, the drug was proved to ineffective, compelling the government to replace it with the new SP drugs.
But recently, the government announced its intention to introduce some new malaria drugs to replace SP following scientific research that the current medication was no longer effective.
The problem of drug resistance does not end with malaria treatment, but extends to the HIV/Aids life-prolonging drugs.
The only difference is that the government has not taken trouble to change AIDS drugs as it did on malaria tablets.
There are several factors that could fuel drug resistance, but excessive consumption of the drug is named as a key reason behind the vice in Tanzania.
There is proof that a person who takes, for instance, a single drug more often, is likely to develop drug resistance.
Many Tanzanians experience such problem after excessively using the medication. This results in a situation when only a few people could be treated by chroloquine or SP.
The country’s health sector reforms have not managed to make positive achievements as far as drug resistance is concerned.
Many people are still dying of malaria and HIV/Aids opportunistic diseases, partly because of drug resistance.
It is an unquestionable fact that the government, under existing circumstances, is struggling to solve the problem, but its efforts are yet to bare the anticipated fruits.
However, stakeholders and government agencies tasked to supervise drugs supply and distribution and medical outlets operations, have taken up the challenge and thus joined the government in fighting drug resistance.
But the struggle becomes more complicated, because some medical outlets are operating illegally, selling expired human drugs and in most cases with professional medics instructions.
The outlets are run by unprofessional businessmen and women, who are greedy for cheap money, a situation which makes handling of drugs more difficult.
Moreover, illegal operations of medical establishments is common in cities such as Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, and Arusha, which have big populations.
As a response to the problem, authorities have started taking stringent actions against illegally operating medical outlets.
Some months ago, the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) seized human drugs worth 250m/- in an extensive crackdown on medical stores operating illegally in Dar es Salaam.
The operation, according to the authority’s top official, was carried out in June, this year, in the three Dar es Salaam municipalities - Temeke, Ilala and Kinondoni.
According to TFDA Director General, Ndomondo Sigonda, a consignment of drugs from medical outlets in the city is preserved at the country’s Medical Store Department (MSD) ready for distribution to public health facilities.
She could not, however, specify when the distribution process would start.
Authorities and stakeholders are concerned that medical dealers are now abusing the essence of open market policies and use them as umbrellas to generate quick money out of illegal and unregistered operations.
’’It should be remembered that the open market does not mean illegal medical operations.
Owners of medical stores need to abide by existing health regulations and laws under the free market regime,’’ Sigonda says.
The exercise was jointly conducted by experts from the agency and officials from municipalities of Temeke, Kinondoni and Ilala.
Experts, who spoke on the sidelines, said mushrooming substandard medical outlets were rampant, threatening lives of people and increasing drug resistance.
’’Drugs sold in illegal and unregistered outlets contributed to increased malaria and HIV/Aids drugs resistance,’’ says TFDA director.
The problem had been forcing the government to incur colossal sums of money in changing malaria’s first-line treatment drugs - Chroloquine, Fansider to new drugs.
The government had already made its firm intention to introduce new malaria treatment drugs to replace the current medication, which scientists had proved to be ineffective.
Health and Social Welfare Deputy Minister, Dr. Aisha Kigoda, was recently quoted in Parliament saying that the government intends to introduce new first-line malaria drugs, but could not unveil more details.
Apart from increasing drug resistance, the sale of illegal drugs stands as a major stumbling block in the implementation of the country’s health policies and reform programmes.
’’That’s why TFDA is now forced to take action against these operations,’’ the director-general said.
A total of 410 medical clinics, were either closed down or had their licences suspended for violating laid down regulations in the operation during which 1,070 medical clinics and pharmacies were inspected.
Some of the inspected outlets had no operation licences, while others were found operating without professional equipment, selling expired, unregistered, and restricted drugs, selling drugs without doctors’ prescriptions, contrary to the medical rules and regulations.
’’This puts the lives of people, for example, HIV/Aids patients at great risk,’’ she said.
But the drug resistance problem fuelled by illegal medical operations, particularly in Dar es Salaam, may be history, as TFDA and Dar es Salaam municipalities have come up with a new and joint system of issuing operation licenses to medical outlets.
The system is expected to be operational at the start of next month, thanks to the strategic partnership of TFDA and municipalities.
Officials say the new system would compell drug dealers to collect application forms for registration at TFDA’s offices and Temeke, Kinondoni and Ilala head offices.
’’Both old and new clinics need to apply for fresh registration under the new system,’’ cautioned Sigonda.
Once registration has been completed, the authority and Dar es Salaam municipalities would champion fresh inspection to check and counter-check outlets that had implemented the directive, and take actions accordingly.
Implementing partners had adopted a door-to-door approach to make sure that no medical outlets are left unchecked in the inspection.
But nobody is sure if the latest attempts would really help to avert the chronic problem of drug resistance in Tanzania.
|
