Welcome to Health Systems Pathways - Population Services International's health system strengthening podcast - making it easier for people to navigate complex health systems.

Insights to inform, influence, and inspire!

In this episode, your host, Marina Dalton-Brown, continues her focus on digital tools and technologies that help people access the care they need. This includes Digital Health Locator Tools which helps direct people to health information and services, much like how Google Maps guides you through unfamiliar streets.

For this episode, Marina went to Kenya to experience first-hand how digital technology is revolutionizing the way people interact with the broader health system.

In the last episode, we learned about the connection between mobile money and digital health tools. We heard about PROMPT for Mums, which is helping over 2 million mothers in Kenya access the antenatal care they need, in the context of Universal Health Care. We touched on Jali, a WhatsApp platform that is aiming to reach the 11 million WhatsApp users across the country with health information on COVID-19, cholera, breast cancer, mental health and wellness, among other health-related topics.

In this episode, we delve deeper into Jali, as Marina discusses the tool with Ministry of Health leaders and consumers at the October 20th Mashujaa Day Celebrations. We learn about the benefits and the vision for Jali, and the impact of digital health tools in the country.

For more information;

• HSS Insights Series : PSI - Top access Population Service International's blogs and policy briefs, visit our heath systems insights website.

Health Systems Pathways is an SCL Agency Production

Welcome to Health Systems Pathways - Population Services International's health system strengthening podcast - making it easier for people to navigate complex health systems.

Insights to inform, influence, and inspire!

In this episode, your host, Marina Dalton-Brown, is focused on digital tools and technologies that help people access the care they need. This includes Digital Health Locator Tools which helps direct people to health information and services, much like how Google Maps guides you through unfamiliar streets.

For this episode, Marina went to Kenya to experience first-hand how digital technology is revolutionizing the way people interact with the broader health system.

We learn about the connection between mobile money and digital health tools. We hear about PROMPT for Mums, which is helping over 2 million mothers in Kenya access the antenatal care they need, in the context of Universal Health Care. We touch on Jali, a WhatsApp platform that is aiming to reach the 11 million WhatsApp users across the country with health information on COVID-19, cholera, breast cancer, mental health and wellness, among other health-related topics.

In the next episode, we delve deeper into Jali, as Marina discusses the tool with Ministry of Health leaders and consumers at the October 20th Mashujaa Day Celebrations. We learn about the benefits and the vision for Jali, and the impact of digital health tools in the country.

For more information;

• HSS Insights Series : PSI

Health Systems Pathways is an SCL Agency Production

Welcome to the first episode of Health Systems Pathways. Making it easier for people to navigate complex health systems. Insights to inform, influence and inspire!  

I am Marina Dalton-Brown from Population Services International (more fondly known as PSI), and I am pleased to be your host for this podcast series.  

This is the shorter version of this episode, where you will hear the contributions of my guest, Ms. Hawa Godwin Milangasi, translated into English. If you would prefer to listen to the full length episode, including Ms Milangasi's contributions in Swahili, follow this link;

https://health-systems-pathways.captivate.fm/episode/-swh

In today’s episode, we talk about drug shops and the role they have in connecting people with the broader health systems.

As part of the conversation, it’s important to distinguish between “drug shops” and pharmacies.

Pharmacies are dispensers of prescription pharmaceutical products and may also sell other retail products and offer basic health services. These are owned, operated, or supervised by a registered pharmacy professional and are typically overseen by a national or regional regulator.

Drug shops are usually unregulated or poorly regulated though they may still sell prescription or over-the-counter health products. Sometimes they operate outside a formal regulatory environment. But they are an important point of care for many persons living in rural areas or outside city centres. In fact, properly integrating them into the health system – by providing training, standards, and a regulatory process – has the potential to significantly improve patient care.

In Tanzania, the National Food and Drug Administration and The Pharmacy Council have been working, with other partners, since 2005 to develop a mechanism to bring drug shops into the national healthcare system by certifying them and improving the quality of products and services being offered. This is called the ADDO Model, which stands for the Accreditation of Drug Dispensing Outlets. Since its inception, more than 14,000 drug shops have been accredited (or certified) and over 26,000 dispensers trained. And studies have shown that these drug shops perform well at many aspects of providing patient care. As a result, a number of other countries have their eye on this model and are at different stages of progress, including Bangladesh, Nigeria, Uganda, and Madagascar among others.

My guests in this episode share their perspectives of how this model has impacted their work and their families directly.

Mr. Richard Silumbe is the Malaria Case Management Officer supporting the National Malaria Control Program in Tanzania, and has first had knowledge of the implementation of the ADDO model.

Ms. Hawa Godwin Milangasi is a business woman who runs an enterprise in Chamazi, just over 28 km from Dar es Salaam, and she has sought care for her family at an ADDO retailer.

To find out more about the development and future of this model, check out our PSI blog (HOW COULD PRIVATE SECTOR PHARMACIES AND DRUG SHOPS ADVANCE PROGRESS TOWARDS UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE?);

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Health Systems Pathways is an SCL Agency Production