MEDICINES CONSUMER AWARENESS CAMPAIGN PROJECT REPORT 2017 This report is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of Cardno Emerging Markets USA, Ltd. and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. CONSUMER AWARENESS CAMPAIGN PROJECT REPORT Authors: Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development (HEPS Uganda) Submitted by: Cardno Emerging Markets USA, Ltd. Submitted to: USAID/Uganda Contract No.: AID-617-C-13-00005 DISCLAIMER The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. Consumer Awareness Campaign Project Report 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATION........................................................................................................................................................................ 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 1. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 1.2 Project objectives ................................................................................................................................................... 8 2. PROJECT ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Project inception ..................................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1.1 Constituting the project team ......................................................................................................................... 9 2.1.2 Introducing the project to stakeholders ....................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Activities to increase awareness of median/average retail prices of selected essential medicines and health supplies ........................................................................................................................................................... 10 2.2.1 Development and dissemination of IEC materials .................................................................................... 10 2.2.2 Community awareness sessions on medicine rights and responsibilities ........................................... 10 2.2.3 Scorecard by community representatives and RMOs ............................................................................. 10 2.2.4 Input tracking..................................................................................................................................................... 15 2.2.5 Radio opinion polls .......................................................................................................................................... 16 2.2.6 Review of existing medicine price monitoring policies ........................................................................... 18 2.2.7 Monitoring of medicine prices ...................................................................................................................... 19 2.2.8 Training of PHPs ............................................................................................................................................... 19 2.3 Activities to promote rational use of medicines by institutionalizing and sensitizing a clients’ charter for medicines at private drug sellers (PDS) ....................................................................................................... 20 3. PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS .......................................................................... 21 3.1 Project achievements ........................................................................................................................................... 21 3.2 Project challenges ................................................................................................................................................. 24 3.3 Lessons learnt ........................................................................................................................................................ 24 4. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................................. 25 5. ANNEX 1: INPUT TRACKING MATRIX TOOL ................................................................................................ 27 5.1 COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES (Tick correct response: Agree, Disagree, Don’t know) .................... 28 5.2 KNOWLEDGE (tick correct response: Agree, Disagree, Don’t know) ................................................. 29 6. ANNEX 2: NUMBER OF PEOPLE REACHED (ATTACHMENT) ................................................................... 30 Consumer Awareness Campaign Project Report 3 ABBREVIATION CSC Community Score Card DDI District Drug Inspector DHO District Health Officer HEPS Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development HSDP Health Sector Development Plan JDSA Jinja Drug Shop Association KADSOOA Kamuli District Drug Shop Operators and Owners Association MDSOO Mukono District Drug Operators and Owners Association MOH Ministry of Health NDASP National Drug Authority Strategic Plan NDP National Drug Policy and Authority Statue, 1993 NDP National Development Plan NMP National Medicines Policy (NMP, 2015) NMS National Medical Stores NPSSP National Pharmaceutical Sector Strategic Plan III 2015-2020 PHPs Private Health Practitioners PSU Pharmacuetical Society of Uganda RMO Registered Medicine Outlets RUM Rational Use of Medicines UHF Uganda Healthcare Federation WHO World Health Organisation Consumer Awareness Campaign Project Report 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development (HEPS-Uganda) acknowledges the financial and technical support from USAID/ Uganda Private Health Support Program towards the implementation of the Consumer Awareness Campaign on Access to Essential Medicines. This project was implemented in Mukono, Jinja and Kamuli districts for 8 months in 2017. We thank the political and technical leadership in the three districts. We are particularly thankful to the Chief Administrative Officers (CAO), District Health Officers (DHOs), District Drug Inspectors (DDIs), District Community Development Officers (DCDOs), health facility in-charges, Registered Medicine Outlets (RMOs), and Community Monitors (CMs) in the three districts. We recognize the collaboration between HEPS-Uganda and TRAC FM and media houses, specifically Radio Simba, Kamuli Broadcasting Services (KBS) and Basoga Baino (Baba) FM that supported the empowerment of communities and implementing media activities under this campaign. Appreciation goes to Ministry of Health (MOH) Pharmacy Division, National Drug Authority (NDA) Pharmacovigilance Unit, Pharmaceutical Society Uganda (PSU), Uganda Healthcare Federation (UHF) and civil society partner organizations for the support given during the implementation of this project. We appreciate all HEPS staff for the effort invested in designing and implementing the project, especially the core project team – Mr. Denis Kibira, Mr. Brian Wafire, Mr. J.B. Luyima, Ms Jackline Mutimba, Mr. Anthony Sebagereka, Mr. Bestason Aliyo, Mr. Arthur Mweruka, Mrs. Prima Kazoora and Ms. Esther Joan Kilande. Consumer Awareness Campaign Project Report 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY USAID/Uganda Private Health Support Program in collaboration with Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development (HEPS-Uganda) implemented a campaign to increase awareness on essential medicines among health consumers and private health providers, including operators of Registered Medicine Outlets (RMO). The project was implemented in the districts of Kamuli, Mukono and Jinja over a period of nine months (January-September 2017). The campaign used a community scorecard (CSC) to sensitize and engage community representatives and RMOs operators to design and implement community-driven interventions to increase awareness of median/ average retail prices of selected essential medicines and health supplies; and generate discussions of medicine issues through the media. At the national level, project team undertook a review of the existing medicine price monitoring policies, and initiated the process of institutionalizing a clients’ charter for medicines at RMOs. The project has scored achievements in the areas of revival of RMO associations and their assumption of the role of self-regulation; some marginal reduction in medicine prices; putting the issue of medicines on the community discussion agenda; and improved communication between RMOs and patients. The project has sensitized a total 2,160 (Mukono – 414, Kamuli – 1,139 and Jinja- 607) of RMOs and community