EndocrinologyEl Salvador And Benin Become 1st To Order Asthma Drugs From Asthma Drug Facility (ADF)
El Salvador and Benin have marked World Asthma Day by placing orders with the Asthma Drug Facility (ADF). Through the ADF these and other low- and middle-income countries will be able to obtain quality-assured essential asthma medicines at affordable prices for the first time.
El Salvador and Benin become first countries to order from Asthma Drug Facility
In late April El Salvador became the first country to order from The Union"s Asthma Drug Facility (ADF). The El Salvador Ministry of Public Health placed an order for asthma inhalers for its Asthma Management Project, which aims to improve and expand the standardised management of asthma in the country"s general health services.
Benin will be the second country to benefit from the ADF"s services. Its National Tuberculosis Programme placed its order on 4 May. A number of other countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America have expressed their interest after consulting ADF"s website for the prices of the HFA (non-CFC) medicines it has recently approved.
For The Union and the Asthma Drug Facility (ADF), this is an appropriate way to celebrate World Asthma Day on the 5th May. The ADF was established to make affordable quality-assured essential asthma medicines available in low- and middle-income countries, and to facilitate the implementation of standard case management of asthma with evaluation of the quality of care.
To guarantee the quality of the drugs provided and the best possible prices, the ADF has selected the inhalers through a qualification process that is based on World Health Organization norms and standards, followed by a limited competitive bidding process.
Through the ADF, a country can buy one year of treatment with Beclometasone and Salbutamol for a patient with severe asthma for less than 40 euros.
The ADF promotes the correct use of medicines and quality standardised care. It provides clients with training materials and an electronic information system based on The Union Asthma Guide. It requires clients to perform simple monitoring of patient outcome in order to evaluate care and improve asthma case management. The Union has published a 3rd edition of its Guide for the standardised case management of asthma. The English version is now available online
With affordable medicines and standardised case management of asthma, countries can work towards the objectives defined in the World Health Organization"s Plan for Non Communicable Diseases 2008-2013 and implement the complementary strategies for the integrated management of tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases (Practical Approach to Lung Health and Comprehensive Approach to Lung Health).
For further information, please go to http://www.GlobalADF.org
Asthma Drug Facility