Rackimuthu Sudhan, Kazmi Zohra, Osman Elmahi Osman Kamal, Hunain Reem, Ghazi Behram Khan, Zaidi Zain Ali, Costa Ana Carla Dos Santos, Ahmad Shoaib, Essar Mohammad Yasir
Father Muller Medical College, Mangalore, Karnataka, India.
Jinnah Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan.
Innov Pharm. 2021 Sep 22;12(4). doi: 10.24926/iip.v12i4.4328. eCollection 2021.
Antiviral drugs are of paramount importance in the accomplishment of the vision of zero new cases of COVID-19 globally, through sustainable retaliation against viral diseases. However, several challenges currently exist in Africa which include insufficient infrastructure, deteriorating health systems, and rising costs of healthcare delivery with concomitant rising inequity with regards to access to health services amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic itself has stimulated an increased use of phytotherapy in Africa as a result of essential drug shortages that have been attributed to a plethora of contributing factors such as travel restrictions, reduced per capita income as well as increased expenditure on transport. As a result, the paucity of antiviral along with antiretroviral drugs used to combat COVID-19 as well as several other endemic viral diseases in Africa has created a worrisome state. This article therefore discusses and aims to underscore the causes, effects, and implications of antiviral and antiretroviral shortages amid COVID-19 in Africa.
抗病毒药物对于通过对病毒性疾病进行可持续反击来实现全球新冠病毒肺炎零新增病例的愿景至关重要。然而，非洲目前存在若干挑战，包括基础设施不足、卫生系统恶化、医疗服务成本上升，以及在新冠病毒肺炎大流行期间获得卫生服务的不平等现象加剧。由于旅行限制、人均收入下降以及交通支出增加等诸多因素导致基本药物短缺，这场大流行本身刺激了非洲对植物疗法的更多使用。因此，非洲用于抗击新冠病毒肺炎以及其他几种地方性病毒性疾病的抗病毒药物和抗逆转录病毒药物短缺，令人担忧。因此，本文讨论并旨在强调新冠病毒肺炎疫情期间非洲抗病毒药物和抗逆转录病毒药物短缺的原因、影响及后果。
