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EFFECT OF REGULATORY
INTERVENTION ON DRUG
AVAILABILITY IN NEPAL
Dangi Chettri GB, Kafle KK, Karkee SB,
Bhuju GB, Shrestha BM, Rajbhandari V,
Humagain B
Pharmaceutical Horizon of Nepal (PHON)
Introduction
Nepal National Drug Policy-1995 was formulated to safeguard
and promote the health of people by ensuring the availability of
safe, effective, standard and quality drugs at affordable price, in
quantities sufficient to cover every corner of the country.
To ensure the availability of safe drugs, one of the policy
strategies is to ban the manufacture, import, sale and distribution
of ineffective, harmful, toxic as well as irrationally combined
formulations.
Objectives
The overall objective of the study was to find out
availability of analgin and its combination in the market
following banning.
Specific objectives
The specific objectives were to find out
. availability of analgin alone in the market after banning
. availability of combination of analgin with Pitofenone
hydrochloride and Fenpiverinium bromide (Baralgan) after
banning
Methodology
An analytical descriptive study.
. The study was conducted in three districts of the Kathmandu
Valley -Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.
. 29 clusters from municipality's areas of study districts were
selected.
. Minimum three drug retailers were randomly selected from
each cluster.
. The total number of retailers studied was 113.
. A surrogate with a piece of paper containing the name of
the drug visited each retailer.
. The name used was analgin or novalgin, and Baralgan (a fixed
dose combination of analgin with other drugs).
. The baseline was collected one month before restriction on sale
and distribution (i.e. five months after the notice).
. Post intervention data were collected one, five and sixteen months after the
notification became effective.
Results
Availability of products before and after the effective date of banning
Analgin(%)
Baralgan(%)
Baseline
96.5
97.3
One month
87.6
87.6
Five months
21.2
20.4
0.0
0.0
Sixteen months
There has been gradual decrease in the availability of drugs in the retail outlet
after the notification became effective.It took many months to become the
intervention effective.
Conclusion
. Inspection and monitoring of customs, importers, and retailers.
. Information about the ban through different media.
. Effective monitoring/supervision along with information
dissemination about banned product through different media
should be undertaken by drug regulatory authority.A study to test
this strategy should be carried out in future.