New drugs to be included on essential medicines list
Dec 12, 2019
On the essential medicines list, at least fifteen new drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and breast cancer will be included.
The Ministry of Health is in the process of updating the treatment guidelines and essential medicines list to bring on board modern medicines that are better suited to tackle noncommunicable diseases (NCD).
This was disclosed by Dr. Gerald Mutungi, the commissioner NCD during the launch of Novartis access program in Kampala.
On the essential medicines list, at least fifteen new drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and breast cancer will be included.
Mutungi is optimistic that the program will enable millions of Ugandans to access well- researched high-quality affordable drugs through National Medical Stores, Joint medical Stores and other private distributors.
Dr. Nathan Mulure, the cluster Head Novartis Social Business said the products will be sold at subsidised prices. Novartis Access is a Novartis Social Business program that offers an assortment of 15 on- and off-patent medicines addressing key non- communicable diseases (NCDs).
In 2014, the government carried out a national NCD risk factor survey and it was discovered that 1 in 4 adults had high blood pressure, 1.4% had diabetes, 14.5% were overweight, 4.6% obese, 12% were using tobacco and 28.5% were taking alcohol.
The survey further reveals that about 76.1% of people with high blood pressure were not aware of their condition, or taking any form of medication.
Globally, NCDs kill over 40 million people annually and the World Health Organisation estimates that about 33% of all deaths in Uganda in 2016 were due to NCDs.
The Government has made the fight against NCDs a top priority by instituting lifestyle changes amongst the public by emphasizing a healthy diet in the young and old people, consuming low salt and low sugar intake, and in addition highlighting the dangers of sugary and alcoholic drinks.
During the capacity building of health care workers in Masaka on NCDs, health experts learned that blood pressure screening at the Out Patient Department (OPD) was still low in all the facilities with only 16% of the people attending OPD screened for NCDs several months ago.
Dr. Kenya Mugisha, the Executive director of WALIMU, a local NGO noted that health facilities in the district were facing a shortage of equipment for screening NCDs.
He called for a need for essential missing NCD equipment to be provided to each health facility- especially glucometers and test strips; more blood pressure machines.