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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.