Stock Cards Research Articles

ANALISIS STRUKTUR BIAYA PRODUKSI DAN UNIT COST UNTUK PENGENDALIAN BIAYA PRODUKSI

The high number of Usaha Kecil Menengah (UKM), Low-Middle Business, leads to increase tough competition among them. This competition requires the businessmen to improve efficiency and effectiveness inrunning the business. The purpose of this research is to find out the comparison between production cost structure and unit cost or cost per unit. This research is also aimed at controlling production cost through cost structure analysis, cost control and unit cost control. This is based on production cost accounting which consists of raw material cost, manpower cost, and factory overhead cost. In recording the raw material based on the result of the research. It is necessary to use counting method by applying stock card either FIFO or LIFO. In terms of manpower, cost controlling, which has never been done so far, is in need to do so. This card functions to monitor the arrival and leaving time of the workers. Depreciation cost has not been included in overhead cost, such as supporting material cost, electricity and rental. The utilization time of production equipment will be implemented to calculate the overhead cost of production basic expense (cost). Keywords: Production Cost, Cost Component, Production Basic Expenses (Cost), Unit Cost.

Influence of the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak on the vaccination of children in a rural district of Guinea.

Setting: All health centres in Macenta District, rural Guinea. Objective: To compare stock-outs of vaccines, vaccine stock cards and the administration of various childhood vaccines across the pre-Ebola, Ebola and post-Ebola virus disease periods. Design: This was an ecological study. Results: Similar levels of stock-outs were observed for all vaccines (bacille Calmette-Guérin [BCG], pentavalent, polio, measles, yellow fever) in the pre-Ebola and Ebola periods (respectively 2760 and 2706 facility days of stock-outs), with some variation by vaccine. Post-Ebola, there was a 65-fold reduction in stock-outs compared to pre-Ebola. Overall, 24 facility-months of vaccine stock card stock-outs were observed during the pre-Ebola period, which increased to 65 facility-months of stock-outs during the Ebola outbreak period; no such stock-out occurred in the post-Ebola period. Apart from yellow fever and measles, vaccine administration declined universally during the peak outbreak period (August-November 2014). Complete cessation of vaccine administration for BCG and a prominent low for polio (86% decrease) were observed in April 2014, corresponding to vaccine stock-outs. Post-Ebola, overall vaccine administration did not recover to pre-Ebola levels, with the highest gaps seen in polio and pentavalent vaccines, which had shortages of respectively 40% and 38%. Conclusion: These findings highlight the need to sustain vaccination activities in Guinea so that they remain resilient and responsive, irrespective of disease outbreaks.

The impact of facility audits, evaluation reports and incentives on motivation and supply management among family planning service providers: an interventional study in two districts in Maputo Province, Mozambique

BackrgoundGood progress is being made towards universal access to contraceptives, however stock-outs still jeopardize progress. A seldom considered but important building block in optimizing supply management is the degree to which health workers feel motivated and responsible for monitoring supply. We explored how and to what extent motivation can be improved, and the impact this can have on avoiding stock-outs.MethodsFifteen health facilities in Maputo Province, Mozambique, were divided into 3 groups (2 intervention groups and 1 control), and 10 monthly audits were implemented in each of these 15 facilities to collect data through examination of stock cards and stock-counts of 6 contraceptives. Based on these audits, the 2 intervention groups received a monthly evaluation report reflecting the quality of their supply management. One of these 2 groups was also awarded material incentives conditional on their performance. A Wilcoxon-Mann Whitney test was used to detect differences between the groups in the average number of stocked-out centres, while changes over time were verified through applying a Friedman test. Additionally, staff motivation was measured through interviewing health care providers of all centres at baseline, and after 5 and 10 months. To detect differences between the groups and changes over time, a Kruskal Wallis and a Wilcoxon signed-rank test were applied, respectively.ResultsMotivation reported by providers (n = 55, n = 40 and n = 39 at baseline, 1st and 2nd follow-up respectively) was high in all groups, during all rounds, and did not change over time. Facilities in the intervention groups had better supply management results (including less stock-outs) during the entire intervention period compared with those in the control group, but the difference was only significant for the group receiving both material incentives and a monthly evaluation. However, our data also suggest that supply management also improved in control facilities, receiving only a monthly audit. During this study, more stock-outs occurred for family planning methods with lower demand, but the number of stock-outs per family planning method in the intervention groups was only significantly lower, compared with the control group, for female condoms.ConclusionsWhile a rise in motivation was not measurable, stock management was enhanced possibly as a result of the monthly audits. This activity was primarily for data collection, but was described as motivating and supportive, indicating the importance of feedback on health workers’ accomplishments. More research is needed to quantify the additional impact of the interventions (distribution of evaluation reports and material incentives) on staff motivation and supply management. Special attention should be paid to supply management of less frequently used contraceptive methods.

Design of Supporting Material Warehouse Management System at PT XYZ

This study has been done to create a system and standard to control the warehouse and also make it easier to find tools. The warehouse is full and finding tools is difficult because there is no regulation to control how the warehouse works. This research uses direct observation in the field, and interviews with the department related to supporting tool warehouses. The results of the observations is the organization of a new management system in the form of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), rules, and a new layout for tools. Based on the existing SOP, stock cards and material, a parent table is made for controlling tools in the warehouse. Controlling is carried out with aim that the warehouse works according to its SOP and eliminates current problems.

Evaluasi Pengelolaan Obat pada Puskesmas di Kota Pariaman

Pengelolaan obat di puskesmas perlu dilakukan dengan baik, karena pengelolaan obat yang baik akan menjamin kelangsungan ketersediaan dan keterjangkauan pelayanan obat yang efisien, efektif dan rasional. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengelolaan obat pada tujuh puskesmas di kota Pariaman, berdasarkan indikator pengelolaan obat yang ditetapkan oleh Departemen Kesehatan RI. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian deskriptif-evaluatif, dengan metode kuantitatif dan kualitatif, menggunakan data retrospektif tahun 2013 dan 2014. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kesesuaian jenis obat yang tersedia dengan DOEN : 64.70%-73.51%, ketepatan permintaan obat 2.28%-24.47%, ketepatan distribusi obat, 4.66%-35.59%, persentase obat yang tidak diresepkan, 5.00%-23.49%, persentase peresepan obat generik 97.27%-100%, persentase perbedaan pencatatan kartu stok dengan jumlah fisik obat, 0.00%-13.13%, maka dapat disimpulkan bahwa pengelolaan obat pada puskesmas di kota Pariaman belum baik, karena belum sesuai dengan standar yang ditetapkan.

Assessing the potential of rural and urban private facilities in implementing child health interventions in Mukono district, central Uganda-a cross sectional study.

BackgroundPrivate facilities are the first place of care seeking for many sick children. Involving these facilities in child health interventions may provide opportunities to improve child welfare. The objective of this study was to assess the potential of rural and urban private facilities in diagnostic capabilities, operations and human resource in the management of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea.MethodsA survey was conducted in pharmacies, private clinics and drug shops in Mukono district in October 2014. An assessment was done on availability of diagnostic equipment for malaria, record keeping, essential drugs for the treatment of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea; the sex, level of education, professional and in-service training of the persons found attending to patients in these facilities. A comparison was made between urban and rural facilities. Univariate and bivariate analysis was done.ResultsA total of 241 private facilities were assessed with only 47 (19.5 %) being in rural areas. Compared to urban areas, rural private facilities were more likely to be drug shops (OR 2.80; 95 % CI 1.23–7.11), less likely to be registered (OR 0.31; 95 % CI 0.16–0.60), not have trained clinicians, less likely to have people with tertiary education (OR 0.34; 95 % CI 0.17–0.66) and less likely to have zinc tablets (OR 0.38; 95 % CI 0.19–0.78). In both urban and rural areas, there was low usage of stock cards and patient registers. About half of the facilities in both rural and urban areas attended to at least one sick child in the week prior to the interview.ConclusionThere were big gaps between rural and urban private facilities with rural ones having less trained personnel and less zinc tablets’ availability. In both rural and urban areas, record keeping was low. Child health interventions need to build capacity of private facilities with special focus on rural areas where child mortality is higher and capacity of facilities lower.

Did drug availability in Malawian central hospitals improve after the conversion of central medical stores to a trust

Malawian public hospitals have reportedly been experiencing a lot of shortages in medicines and medical supplies in recent years. This was at least in part, attributed to the traditional placement of the drug supply system under the Ministry of Health, and therefore a change in the organizational set-up was implemented in 2011. This study aimed at finding out if the availability of medicines in central hospitals in Malawi improved after the change of Central Medical Stores (CMS) to a Trust (CMST). A retrospective cohort study was done to quantify the availability of selected essential medicines before and after the change of CMS from stock cards. A questionnaire was filled by 23 health professionals to assess their views on whether the change of CMST resulted in improved availability of medicines. The study was done at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) and Central Medical Store Trust. The targeted study period was before the change of CMS (2010/2011) and after (2013/2014) the change to CMST. The results of the study showed considerable reduction in stock-out days for both KCH and the CMST (from an average of 80 and 16 days to 42 and 9 days, respectively), with CMST results being statistically significant (p=0.023). However, in QECH, there was no improvement (from 22 to 24 days). The view of most respondents was that there was no improvement in medicine availability after the change of CMS, which represented a certain contradiction to the results of the quantitative part. This may be attributed to the fact that the questionnaire targeted only participants from QECH and KCH and left out participants from CMST. The study indicated that the radical shift in the management of CMS was followed by an improvement of drug availability in CMST itself, and in one of the two investigated hospitals. The non-improvement in drug availability in hospitals calls for further investigation in the future to understand the reasons for this. Key words: Central medical stores, Malawi, medicine availability, essential medicine, autonomous supply agency, pharmaceutical logistics, supply chain.

Indicator Based Assessment of Medicine Storage and Inventory Management Practices in various Public Sector Hospitals of District Srinagar

Introduction: The role and relevance of medicines, vaccines and other health supplies are critical, as they are considered important building blocks of the health care system. Well-located, well-built and secured storage facilities are an essential component of a pharmaceutical supply system. Methodology: This study was carried out at various public sector hospitals of District Srinagar using a set of 138 assessment indicators to study the drug storage and inventory management practices in terms of storage facilities and procedures, inventory and stock management practices and daily, monthly, yearly storage and inventory related activities. Results: Indicator based assessment for drug storage and inventory management practices revealed highest percentage adherence of 80% in managing expired drugs followed by 55.4% in daily, monthly, yearly storage and inventory control activities, 48% adherence in storage procedures, 46.1% in receiving supplies, 42.5% in stock positioning, 40.9% in storage space, 38% in stock management, 26% in stock-outs and the lowest percentage adherence of 22.9% was observed in inventory management. Facility-wise assessment revealed highest overall percentage adherence of 64.1% at Children’s Hospital (CH) followed by 54.3% at District Hospital (DH), 49.3% at Medical College (MC), 29.6 % at Sub-District Hospital (SDH) and 24.4% at Primary Health Centre (PHC). Overall percentage availability of indicator medicines was found to be 32.5% (CH=56.2% & DH=18.6%). Stock cards were not found in any of the health care facility and no expired products were found stocked in CH, MC and DH. Average indenting frequency was found to be 31 days (PHC=60; MC=10) whereas average numbers of medicines indented in one go were found to be 24. Average lead time was found to be 15 days (CH=15; MC=60) whereas average no of stock out days was found to be 66.6 days (CH=10 & PHC=115). Conclusion: Overall adherence towards various storage conditions was found to be less than 50% and lack of adherence to the basic inventory management principles was found to be common

Assessment of Essential Medicines Stock-Outs at Health Centers in Burera District in Northern Rwanda

One-third of the global population, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, lacks consistent access to essential medicines. This descriptive study assessed the level of stock-outs and whether distance to district pharmacy, supervision visits or delays in drug delivery from district pharmacy to health centers were associated with stock-outs in 15 rural health centers in northern Rwanda. We extracted data from stock cards, dispensing records and health center registers. One tracer drug, mebendazole, had no stock-outs. Quinine had the most stock-outs, an average of 10.5 months of stock-outs in 10 health centers. No association was found between drug stock-out and distance, supervision visits or delays in drug delivery. We hypothesize that observed stock-outs could be attributed to availability of other dosages of the same medicine, special orders during campaigns, staff turn-over and logistical issues beyond health centers’ capacity such as delays in importation. These should be explored more in future studies.Key words: essential medicines, stock-outs, pharmacy supply chain management, Rwanda

Assessment of Essential Medicines Stock-Outs at Health Centers in Burera District in Northern Rwanda

One-third of the global population, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, lacks consistent access to essential medicines. This descriptive study assessed the level of stock-outs and whether distance to district pharmacy, supervision visits or delays in drug delivery from district pharmacy to health centers were associated with stock-outs in 15 rural health centers in northern Rwanda. We extracted data from stock cards, dispensing records and health center registers. One tracer drug, mebendazole, had no stock-outs. Quinine had the most stock-outs, an average of 10.5 months of stock-outs in 10 health centers. No association was found between drug stock-out and distance, supervision visits or delays in drug delivery. We hypothesize that observed stock-outs could be attributed to availability of other dosages of the same medicine, special orders during campaigns, staff turn-over and logistical issues beyond health centers’ capacity such as delays in importation. These should be explored more in future studies.Key words: essential medicines, stock-outs, pharmacy supply chain management, Rwanda

Reducing Stockouts in a Cancer Center’s Ambulatory Care Clinics

Supply replenishment in many healthcare settings is a very laborious and wasteful process. The objective of this article is to describe a pilot implementation of a fixed order quantity kanban system for supply replenishment within an outpatient clinic at a cancer center. The pilot resulted in decreased labor for materials management staff and increased supply availability for clinicians. The concepts discussed and implemented build on the engineering management body of knowledge. The article provides an in-depth look at a successful implementation. In particular, the article describes the baseline process analysis used, the application of inventory modeling principles, as well as the application of a decision support tool. The results of the described inventory replenishment process redesign using the kanban system and stock card approach provide other engineering managers a roadmap for their own implementations.

Availability of Essential Medicines and Supplies during the Dual Pull-Push System of Drugs Acquisition in Kaliro District, Uganda

The Ugandan government has experimented with various supply chain models for delivery of essential drugs and supplies. In 2010, the dual pull-push system was adopted; however drug stock outs are still a common occurrence in health facilities. This study on availability of essential medicines during the dual Pull-Push system in Kaliro District was undertaken, to be used as an indirect or direct indicator of effectiveness of the dual pull-push system of drugs acquisition in the district. The study combined quantitative and qualitative methods; the study mainly based on; document review (stock cards, delivery notes,) and key informant interviews. Results showed that average stock-out duration of essential medicines and supplies was 23.89% (20.47 % for essential medicines and 27.32% for medical supplies). ACT Artemether/lumefantrine 20/120 mg tablets had the highest percentage stock-out followed by Cotrimoxazole 480mg tablets (51.6 and 32.4 %, respectively). Among the short falls of the system were; drug requisitions based on neither morbidity nor consumption methods of quantification, delays during distribution, supplying medicines with short shelf life, rare condition drugs or low usage drugs. In conclusion, the trend of essential medicines and supplies availability during the dual pull-push system seemed to be declining since its initiation in 2010. It is thus recommended that national medical stores involve stakeholders at all stages of medicines and supplies planning, especially the district health officers, who are the final consumers in the supply chain. The government can also adopt a revolving drug fund system, in the form of ‘Special Pharmacies and drug stores’ to enhance availability of essential drugs in public facilities and thus improve the quality of health care.

PENYIMPANAN OBAT DI GUDANG INSTALASI FARMASI RS PKU MUHAMMADIYAH YOGYAKARTA UNIT I

Background: Medicine arrangement in Hospital Pharmaceutical Installation included planning, procurement, distribution, and utilizing. Medicine storage indicator was : the suitability between goods and stock card, TOR (Turn Over Ratio), percentage of medicine which was expired and or damaged, storage room arrangement system, percentage of dead stock, and percentage of final stock value. Based on the result of work evaluation of Pharmaceutical Supply Inventory for tablet supply in Pharmaceutical Installation Storage Room at PKU Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta Hospital Unit I, it was found that unsuitability between goods quantity with stock card and computerization was as much as 15,38 %, TOR value was 29 times every year, final sock value was 6 %, medicine percentage was ED (expired date) 0,03 %. This data showed us that the suitability between goods and stock care, medicine ED percentage, TOR, and final stock value didnt meet the hospital target yet. Method: This research was a kind of qualitative description with a draft as observational research. The subjects at this research were The Head of Pharmaceutical Installation, The Head of Pharmaceutical Installation Storage Room, officers of Pharmaceutical Installation Storage Room, and The Head of Maintenance Unit. The means of the research used observatory method and a deep interview. Data analysis was made in a way of qualitative description, and triangulation technique was done to guarantee data validity. Results: Based on the result of research by using observation and deep interview, we knew that medicine storage system in Pharmaceutical Installation Storage Room didnt meet the standard because the medicine arrangement didnt refer to therapy class/ medicine merit. The building and the rooms were suitable with the standard, but the equipments didnt meet the standard because there was no alarm, gram and milligram measurement, box opener, and maintenance card. Human resource was already suitable with the standard because there were Pharmacist and the assistant available. Conclusion: The factor of medicine and equipment stock room system was not suitable with the standard, but the factor of building, rooms and human resource in Pharmaceutical Installation Storage Room at PKU Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta Hospital Unit I were already suitable with the standard. Keywords: Medicine storage, Building and Rooms, Equipment, Human Resource

ASSESSMENT OF PHARMACEUTICAL STORE MANAGEMENT IN WOREDA HEALTH OFFICES OF WEST HARARGHE ZONE, ETHIOPIA

In order to ensure the prompt availability in adequate quantity of drugs at the time of need, they must be kept ready in stock. This requires good pharmaceutical store management and planning. The main purpose of this study was to assess the pharmaceutical store management practices in Habro, Darolebu, Odabultum, Gemechis and Chiro Woreda Health office pharmaceutical stores, West Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia. A district based prospective crosssectional study design was conducted using check lists prepared based on WHO criteria to assess the pharmaceutical store management. A total of five Woreda health office pharmaceutical stores were included in the study with response rate of 100 %. In all (n = 5) of the study stores, there were no fire extinguisher, ladder, refrigerator/ freezer/, ventilators, wall thermometers and computer. All the study stores had adequate lighting, functional locks, protected from direct sun light, roof ceiling and windows in a good repair and 4 of them were dry, adequately ventilated and shady. The study findings show that the drug storage, arrangement and issuing practice were found good in Habro, Darolebu and Gemechis and Chiro store but poor in odabultum store. There were no sufficient storage and reception area, in Habro, Darolebu and Odabultum, shelves in Habro, Odabultum and Chiro and floor pallets in Gemechis, Odabultum and Chiro stores. Bin cards and stock cards were used only in Habro and Chiro stores. There were no means of maintaining and recording the room temperature of the drug store in all of the study stores.

Rapid diagnostic test supply chain and consumption study in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique: estimating stock shortages and identifying drivers of stock-outs.

BackgroundMalaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are particularly useful in low-resource settings where follow-through on traditional laboratory diagnosis is challenging or lacking. The availability of these tests depends on supply chain processes within the distribution system. In Mozambique, stock-outs of malaria RDTs are fairly common at health facilities. A longitudinal cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate drivers of stock shortages in the Cabo Delgado province.MethodsData were collected from purposively sampled health facilities, using monthly cross-sectional surveys between October 2011 and May 2012. Estimates of lost consumption (consumption not met due to stock-outs) served as the primary quantitative indicator of stock shortages. This is a better measure of the magnitude of stock-outs than binary indicators that only measure frequency of stock-outs at a given facility. Using a case study based methodology, distribution system characteristics were qualitatively analysed to examine causes of stock-outs at the provincial, district and health centre levels.Results15 health facilities were surveyed over 120 time points. Stock-out patterns varied by data source; average monthly proportions of 59%, 17% and 17% of health centres reported a stock-out on stock cards, laboratory and pharmacy forms, respectively. Estimates of lost consumption percentage were significantly high; ranging from 0% to 149%; with a weighted average of 78%. Each ten-unit increase in monthly-observed consumption was associated with a nine-unit increase in lost consumption percentage indicating that higher rates of stock-outs occurred at higher levels of observed consumption. Causes of stock-outs included inaccurate tracking of lost consumption, insufficient sophistication in inventory management and replenishment, and poor process compliance by facility workers, all arguably stemming from inadequate attention to the design and implementation of the distribution system.ConclusionsSubstantially high levels of RDT stock-outs were found in Cabo Delgado. Study findings point to a supply chain with a commendable degree of sophistication. However, insufficient attention paid to system design and implementation resulted in deteriorating performance in areas of increased need. In such settings fast moving commodities like malaria RDTs can call attention to supply chain vulnerabilities, the findings from which can be used to address other slower moving health commodities.

PHC-023 Rational Use of Medicine in Swedish Committee For Afghanistan Health Facilities

BackgroundMedicine and medical commodities constitute essential and important inputs to health service delivery in all health systems. Irrational use of medicines is a multi-dimensional issue and requires interventions at several...

DSL-012 Evaluating the Standards of Hospital Pharmacies in Therapeutic Centres Affiliated with of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Background Nowadays pharmaceutical care departments located in hospitals are amongst the important pillars of the healthcare system.Purpose To evaluate the quality of hospital pharmacies affiliated to the Kermanshah University of...

Simplified methods of determining treatment retention in Malawi: ART cohort reports vs. pharmacy stock cards.

Rapid scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has challenged the health system in Malawi to monitor large numbers of patients effectively. To compare two methods of determining retention on treatment: quarterly ART clinic data aggregation vs. pharmacy stock cards. Between October 2010 and March 2011, data on ART outcomes were extracted from monitoring tools at five facilities. Pharmacy data on ART consumption were extracted. Workload for each method was observed and timed. We used intraclass correlation and Bland-Altman plots to compare the agreeability of both methods to determine treatment retention. There is wide variability between ART clinic cohort data and pharmacy data to determine treatment retention due to divergence in data at sites with large numbers of patients. However, there is a non-significant trend towards agreeability between the two methods (intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.9; P > 0.05). Pharmacy stock card monitoring is more time-efficient than quarterly ART data aggregation (81 min vs. 573 min). In low-resource settings, pharmacy records could be used to improve drug forecasting and estimate ART retention in a more time-efficient manner than quarterly data aggregation; however, a necessary precondition would be capacity building around pharmacy data management, particularly for large-sized cohorts.

Komputerisasi Pencatatan dan Evaluasi Pelaksanaan Inseminasi Buatan di Kabupaten 50 Kota

While it is not enough done in manual manner, recording is an important point to control the artificial insemination (AI) management. Then, there was an idea to carry out an arrangement of computerized AI recording and evaluation system. Its aim is to produce computer software in on-line system basis. Then it is useful in recording and evaluation of AI performance in 50 Kota district, West Sumatra as well as in decision support system. This survey and experiment combination methods used two questioners for two inseminators and four the Animal extension service officers. Secondary data were also collected from 50 Kota Animal extension services. Experiment used computers software of programming web (HTML and PHP) and database phpMyAdmin (MySQL). Variables consisted of several card, namely; (1) AI activity card, (2) pregnant inspection and infertility card, (3) Semen usage and liquid N2 stock card, (4) AI calving card which could be demonstrated by service/ conception (S/C), conception rate (CR) and calving rate indicators. The result showed that there was computer software in recording and evaluation of AI performance available for 50 Kota district. This system did recording of AI in a faster, valid, easy and qualified manner. After a local verification trial, a qualified system had been proved by using AI manual calculation comparison. Thus, this system will be more effective and efficient in AI recording and evaluation.

Deficient supplies of drugs for life threatening diseases in an African community

BackgroundIn Malawi essential drugs are provided free of charge to patients at all public health facilities in order to ensure equitable access to health care. The country thereby spends about 30% of the national health budget on drugs. In order to investigate the level of drug shortages and eventually find the reasons for the drugs shortages in Malawi, we studied the management of the drug supplies for common and life threatening diseases such as pneumonia and malaria in a random selection of health centres.MethodsIn July and August 2005 we visited eight out of a total of 37 health centres chosen at random in the Lilongwe District, Malawi. We recorded the logistics of eight essential and widely used drugs which according to the treatment guidelines should be available at all health centres. Five drugs are used regularly to treat pneumonia and three others to treat acute malaria. Out-of-stock situations in the course of one year were recorded retrospectively. We compared the quantity of each drug recorded on the Stock Cards with the actual stock of the drug on the shelves at the time of audit. We reviewed 8,968 Patient Records containing information on type and amount of drugs prescribed during one month.ResultsOn average, drugs for treating pneumonia were out of stock for six months during one year of observation (median value 167 days); anti-malarial drugs were lacking for periods ranging from 42 to138 days. The cross-sectional audit was even more negative, but here too the situation was more positive for anti-malarial drugs. The main reason for the shortage of drugs was insufficient deliveries from the Regional Medical Store. Benzyl penicillin was in shortest supply (4% received). The median value for non-availability was 240 days in the course of a year. The supply was better for anti-malarial drugs, except for quinine injections (9 %). Only 66 % of Stock Card records of quantities received were reflected in Patient Records showing quantities dispensed.ConclusionWe conclude that for the eight index drugs the levels of supply are unacceptable. The main reason for the observed shortage of drugs at the health centres was insufficient deliveries from the Regional Medical Store. A difference between the information recorded on the Stock Cards at the health centres and that recorded in the Patient Records may have contributed to the overall poor drug supply situation. In order to ensure equitable access to life saving drugs, logistics in general should be put in order before specific disease management programmes are initiated.