IPS examines access to medicine in Malawi

"Health experts say [an] inadequate number of nurses and pharmacists is among the leading factors denying people access to medicines in Malawi," Inter Press Service writes in an article examining medication shortages in rural Malawi.

"Studies by Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN), a group of civil society organisations in the health sector, show that while the Central Medical Stores, [the] government's drug procurement agency, may stock up to 85 percent of the essential drugs, district hospitals do not have most medicines because of [a] shortage of staff to process the ordering. This affects availability of the medicines in outlying posts," IPS reports. The article also looks at the government's efforts to expand access to medicine (Mapak, 5/25).