Malaria & Child Survival Department, Population Services International, P,O, Box 43640-00800, Nairobi, Kenya, Africa.
Malar J. 2011 Oct 31;10:325. doi: 10.1186/1475-2875-10-325.
Policy makers, governments and donors are faced with an information gap when considering ways to improve access to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and malaria diagnostics including rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). To help address some of these gaps, a five-year multi-country research project called ACTwatch was launched. The project is designed to provide a comprehensive picture of the anti-malarial market to inform national and international anti-malarial drug policy decision-making.
The project is being conducted in seven malaria-endemic countries: Benin, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia from 2008 to 2012.ACTwatch measures which anti-malarials are available, where they are available and at what price and who they are used by. These indicators are measured over time and across countries through three study components: outlet surveys, supply chain studies and household surveys. Nationally representative outlet surveys examine the market share of different anti-malarials passing through public facilities and private retail outlets. Supply chain research provides a picture of the supply chain serving drug outlets, and measures mark-ups at each supply chain level. On the demand side, nationally representative household surveys capture treatment seeking patterns and use of anti-malarial drugs, as well as respondent knowledge of anti-malarials.
The research project provides findings on both the demand and supply side determinants of anti-malarial access. There are four key features of ACTwatch. First is the overlap of the three study components where nationally representative data are collected over similar periods, using a common sampling approach. A second feature is the number and diversity of countries that are studied which allows for cross-country comparisons. Another distinguishing feature is its ability to measure trends over time. Finally, the project aims to disseminate findings widely for decision-making.
ACTwatch is a unique multi-country research project that threads together anti-malarial supply and consumer behaviour to provide an evidence base to policy makers that can help determine where interventions may positively impact access to and use of quality-assured ACT and RDTs. Because of its ability to detect change over time, it is well suited to monitor the effects of policy or intervention developments in a country.
政策制定者、政府和捐助者在考虑改善青蒿素联合疗法（ACT）和疟疾诊断方法（包括快速诊断检测试剂）获取途径时面临着信息缺口。为了帮助解决其中的一些缺口，启动了一个名为“ACTwatch”的为期五年的多国研究项目。该项目旨在提供全面的抗疟市场图景，为国家和国际抗疟药物政策决策提供信息。
该项目正在 2008 年至 2012 年期间在七个疟疾流行国家开展：贝宁、柬埔寨、刚果民主共和国、马达加斯加、尼日利亚、乌干达和赞比亚。“ACTwatch”衡量哪些抗疟药物可用、在哪里可用以及价格如何，以及谁在使用这些药物。这些指标是通过三个研究部分随时间和国家进行衡量的：销售点调查、供应链研究和家庭调查。全国代表性的销售点调查考察了通过公共设施和私人零售网点的不同抗疟药物的市场份额。供应链研究提供了为药品销售点服务的供应链情况，并衡量了每个供应链环节的加价情况。在需求方面，全国代表性的家庭调查记录了寻求治疗的模式以及抗疟药物的使用情况，以及受访者对抗疟药物的了解程度。
该研究项目提供了关于抗疟药物获取的需求和供应方决定因素的研究结果。“ACTwatch”有四个主要特点。首先是三个研究部分的重叠，在相似的时间段内使用共同的抽样方法收集全国代表性数据。第二个特点是研究国家的数量和多样性，这使得可以进行跨国比较。另一个显著特点是其衡量趋势随时间变化的能力。最后，该项目旨在广泛传播研究结果，以辅助决策。
“ACTwatch”是一个独特的多国研究项目，它将抗疟药物供应和消费者行为联系在一起，为政策制定者提供了一个证据基础，有助于确定干预措施可能在何处积极影响获得和使用质量保证的 ACT 和 RDT 的途径。由于其能够随时间检测变化，因此非常适合监测国家政策或干预措施发展的效果。
