title: The availability of six tracer medicines in private medicine outlets in Uganda.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many low income countries struggle to provide safe and effective medicines due to poor public health care infrastructure, budgetary constraints, and lack of human resource capacity. Private sector pharmacies and drug shops are used by a majority of the population as an alternative to public pharmacies. This study looks at the availability of six essential medicines in private drug outlets across Uganda.
  
  
  METHODS
  A standardised medicines availability survey developed by the World Health Organization and Health Action International was adapted for use in this project to collect availability data for six tracer medicines in 126 private medicine outlets across four districts in Uganda from September 2011 to October 2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Artemisinin-based combination treatments and metformin were the most commonly found medicines in the private medicine outlets surveyed. Ninty-nine percent of all outlets carried artemisinin-based combinations while 93% of pharmacies and 53% of drug shops stocked metformin. Oxytocin was found in one third of outlets surveyed. Fluoxetine was in 70% of pharmacies yet was not found in any drug shops. Rifampicin and lamivudine were found infrequently in outlets across all districts; 10% and 2%, respectively. Not all brands found in surveyed outlets were listed on the Ugandan National Drug Register. In particular, five unlisted brands of rifampicin were found in private medicine outlets.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The regulatory process should be improved through the enforcement of outlet licensing and medicine registration. Additional studies to elucidate the reasons behind the use of private medicine outlets over the public sector would assist the government in implementing interventions to increase use of public sector medicine outlets.
authors: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Technology, Mbarara, Uganda.
authors: Catherine
authors: C
authors: Birabwa
authors: School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK ; Institute of Development Policy and Management, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors: Jude
authors: J
authors: Murison
authors: School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Valerie
authors: V
authors: Evans
authors: Department of Family Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
authors: Celestino
authors: C
authors: Obua
authors: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Technology, Mbarara, Uganda.
authors: Amon
authors: A
authors: Agaba
authors: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Waako
authors: Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors: Allyson
authors: A
authors: Pollock
keywords: Drug shop; Essential medicines; Medicine outlet; Pharmacy; Private sector; Uganda