Malaria remains a major public health problem in Ghana and other endemic countries mainly due to widespread and high-level resistance to antimalarial medicines. The presence of any substandard antimalarials on the Ghanaian market is a public health concern. A research study that assesses the extent of monitoring and surveillance in …
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Malaria remains a major public health problem in Ghana and other endemic countries mainly due to widespread and high-level resistance to antimalarial medicines. The presence of any substandard antimalarials on the Ghanaian market is a public health concern. A research study that assesses the extent of monitoring and surveillance in Ghana to evaluate how the proliferation of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) and their qualities could compromise malaria therapy control in our localities is crucial. A qualitative study design using key informers with identified individuals from the various regulatory authorities on how monitoring and surveillance is carried out in Ghana with a focus on the Bono East Region was conducted. The regulatory authorities and other stakeholders comprising of Food and Drugs Authority, Pharmacy Council, National Malaria Control Programme and Customs Excise and Preventive Services mentioned that they knew of all the ACTs in circulation in Ghana as they embarked on regular checks to ensure that only registered ACTs were in circulation. From their recent market survey, the failure rate for ACTs was 0.6%, which was deemed very minimal and not widespread. The prevalence of substandard ACTs, i.e. ACTs with less than the required amount of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients is currently far lower (0.6%) compared to a survey carried out in the past. This means ACTs quality in Ghana has improved significantly. A review of existing policy and programme response against counterfeit and substandard ACTs through monitoring and surveillance is deemed adequate. In interviews granted recently with the Regulatory Authorities, the menace of substandard ACTs is very minimal and should be maintained to avert any major public health problems associated with malaria in Ghana and other malaria-endemic countries.
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