Premium
Optimizing in‐kind drug donations for Tanzania—a case study
Author(s) -
Mariacher Gaby Gehler,
Mtasiwa Deo,
Wiedenmayer Karin,
Bruppacher Rudolf,
Tanner Marcel,
Hersberger Kurt E.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the international journal of health planning and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1099-1751
pISSN - 0749-6753
DOI - 10.1002/hpm.901
Subject(s) - tanzania , transparency (behavior) , donation , business , government (linguistics) , accountability , quality assurance , quality (philosophy) , process management , public relations , marketing , operations management , political science , environmental planning , economic growth , engineering , computer science , economics , geography , computer security , linguistics , philosophy , service (business) , epistemology , law
Abstract A questionnaire survey (QS) among stakeholders in Tanzania had shown that in‐kind drug donations (DDs) are important to boost the drug supply system. Major problems were their insufficient quantity for sustainable treatment and the discrepancy between the needs of the recipients and the donors' supply. Objectives in this study were to discuss these findings and to learn from key informants (KIs) how to improve the DD process. Data were collected through KI interviews in 2001/2002. A 30% gap in drug supply has to be bridged by DDs. KIs confirmed the importance of the World Health Organisation and Tanzanian DD guidelines as a tool for good donation practice and emphasized the role of the government in their implementation. They requested that donors meet the recipient country's regulatory requirements. In contrast to QS respondents, KIs did not view DD quality as a minor problem, and proposed that DD quality should be adapted to the national quality assurance procedures. DD processes could be improved through (a) effective implementation of DD guidelines as an aid for decision‐making and for quality assurance, (b) availability of data to improve communication between donors and recipients, (c) transparency between recipients and donors and (d) clearly defined accountability. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.