Related activities
CAPSS Launch MMV and MOH Uganda
September 2008
MoH MMV Concept Paper - Improving Access to Treatment [PDF:700kb]
Ministry of Health (MoH) MMV Planning Events: Workshop Series
26 September-2 October 2007 Kampala, Uganda
MoH MMV Consultative meeting with Stakeholders Report
February 2007 Report Kampala, Uganda
Related articles
The quest for universal access to effective malaria treatment: how can the AMFm contribute? Published in Malaria Journal
‘Cost is killing patients: The case for subsidizing effective antimalarials’.MMV's comment to The Lancet
Expanding reach
The MMV Access team works with industry and in-country partners to explore how the reach of new medicines can be maximized. In addition to ensuring widespread use via conventional public and private sector channels, MMV also supports the use of innovative delivery channels and affordability initiatives. Our current activities are:
1. Expanding community access to treatment by supporting integrated rural health delivery models
Malaria can be treated faster if appropriate services are available as close to the community as possible. This requires the delivery of good treatment and supporting services, implemented through integrated community case management models. MMV welcomes programmes which allow for rapid diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening childhood diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria.
2. Private sector subsidy schemes to expand access to effective treatment
It is widely recognized that 40–60% of people in sub-Saharan Africa purchase antimalarials from the private sector rather than the public sector. ACTs however are often prohibitively priced and most people can only afford to buy failing drugs such as chloroquine. In 2009, the MoH-MMV CAPSS pilot in Uganda sought to assess whether subsidizing ACTs in the private sector would bring effective treatment within reach of those that need it. In 2011, following WHO's revised guidance to "diagnose before treating", MMV and partners (Karolinska Institute and Makerere University) are piloting CAPSS PLUS, incorporating the use of RDTs and providing training on the treatment of non-malarial fevers by Ugandan rural drug sellers.
3. Supply chain management innovation and improved system performance
Good supply chain management is key to ensuring that antimalarials recommended in national malaria treatment policies are actually available at the point of care. MMV supports better routine monitoring of the flows of ACTs within countries, to help partners develop innovations that will keep government health facilities adequately stocked.
4. Advocacy and mobilization to highlight gaps in ACT & RDT scale up
Appropriate treatment of malaria, through diagnosis and use of high quality ACTs within 24 hours is woefully low across many parts of Africa. MMV is working with partners to raise awareness about the need to scale up correct diagnosis and to provide effective treatment as quickly as possible.
Additional outreach
Early on in its Access work, MMV clearly identified the need to reach out to national endemic country decision makers in order to improve awareness of MMV, the portfolio and the impact of new choices of ACTs at country level. This was undertaken by a series of country roadshows which provided an opportunity for MMV to present information about the portfolio, as well as understand country needs for scale up of high quality, low cost anti-malarials in achieving maximum health impact.
