Working With The Informal Sector

Some programs in sub-Saharan Africa have worked directly with informal drug retail outlets to improve access to good quality malaria services and medicines. For example, in 2001, Tanzania launched an accredited drug dispensing outlet (ADDO) program that increased access to good quality drugs, including ACTs, through vendor trainings, incentives and improved regulation. A pilot program in Tanzania gave rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits to ADDO owners; customers who took a malaria test first were more likely to buy ACTs than those who did not test. Other programs working with informal vendors have been able to improve knowledge and dispensing practices, the number of vendors stocking ACTs and the price of ACTs.