Uwizeyimana Theogene, Hashim Hashim Talib, Kabakambira Jean Damascene, Mujyarugamba Jean Claude, Dushime Jackson, Ntacyabukura Blaise, Ndayizeye Remy, Adebisi Yusuff Adebayo, Lucero-Prisno Don Eliseo
Department of Public Health, Mount Kenya University Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.
J Pharm Policy Pract. 2021 Jan 20;14(1):12. doi: 10.1186/s40545-021-00301-2.
COVID-19 is a threat to health systems around the world and Rwanda is not an exception. The impact of the pandemic is far-reaching and access to health commodities is not spared. Proper drug supply is critical for a robust healthcare system. It determines the extent at which the population are likely to have access to essential medicines and treatments. In Rwanda, the pharmaceutical sector heavily relies on imports. With the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, the drug supply system was interrupted leaving many stores from small local pharmacies to the big medical stores running out of stock. The reasons were limited importation of goods from abroad, and the panic buying practice among the customers and some institutions when responding to the pandemic. Drug and medicines accessibility, availability and affordability should be the core of any drug management policy. It is with no doubt that, Rwanda has made a tremendous work to mitigate the effect of COVID-19 on the country's drug supply; however, efforts are still needed to invest in local pharmaceutical production as a way to minimize import expenses in the country. Good policy on drug importation, production and distribution should be enforced to avoid any drug shortage that may be encountered in the Rwandan drug market.
新冠肺炎疫情对全球卫生系统构成威胁，卢旺达也不例外。这场大流行的影响深远，卫生用品供应也未能幸免。充足的药品供应对于强大的医疗保健系统至关重要。它决定了民众获得基本药品和治疗的程度。在卢旺达，制药行业严重依赖进口。随着新冠肺炎疫情的出现，药品供应系统中断，从小型当地药店到大型医疗用品店，许多商店都缺货。原因包括从国外进口的货物有限，以及客户和一些机构在应对疫情时的抢购行为。药品的可及性、可得性和可负担性应是任何药品管理政策的核心。毫无疑问，卢旺达为减轻新冠肺炎疫情对该国药品供应的影响做出了巨大努力；然而，仍需努力投资本地制药生产，以尽量减少该国的进口费用。应实施关于药品进口、生产和分销的良好政策，以避免卢旺达药品市场可能出现的任何药品短缺情况。
