Congo/ Public health: accessibility to medicines at the heart of a conference-debate

On February 29 in Brazzaville, the Congolese Foundation for Access to Medicines (Focam) brought together key players in the Congolese healthcare system for a round table discussion on the role of pharmacists in the implementation of the universal health insurance scheme.

Alongside executives from the Caisse d'assurance maladie universelle (Camu) and several of the Republic's institutions, the doctors, pharmacists and civil society players discussed the establishment of this structure, which aims to promote access to medicines. They put forward proposals aimed at improving health services in general, and product availability nationwide in particular.

The participants in the conference-debate painted a picture of the problems encountered by certain localities in terms of medical supplies. While they believe that the Congo is not a pharmaceutical desert, it is nonetheless important to reinforce coherence between the doctors who write prescriptions and the pharmacists who serve patients.

Focam president Dr Ray Mankele expressed his satisfaction with the discussions, saying that participants had exceeded expectations. "The foundation believes that the launch of the Camu is a good opportunity to ensure that all Congolese can have access to medicines by eliminating the financial barrier. Today, we discussed the role of the pharmacist. The debates went beyond our expectations, since we talked about fundamental problems" , he said.

One of Focam's objectives is to ensure that every citizen has access to the medicines they need, in the quantities and of the quality required, wherever they may be.

Source: www.adiac-congo.com/