EPN believes access to medicines is a basic human right and every effort should be made to ensure that all actors in the health sector take up the challenge of ensuring that medicines are accessible and affordable to all. Rational use of medicines is equally important to ensure that the available medicines continue to be effective.

The goal of this programme is to facilitate increased access to and ensure rational use of affordable quality medicines in the church health system. EPN seeks to achieve this goal through: 

• Exploring and propagating models that address access to and/or rational use of medicines.
• Developing capacities and supporting improved operations in Drug Supply Organizations (DSOs) and Church Health Institutions (CHIs).
• Promoting collaborations between church DSOs and government DSOs and others as appropriate.
• Developing and/or disseminating tools for medicines management.
• Raising awareness on medicines use issues at different levels and among different professions and facilitating institutionalisation of rational use of medicines.
• Developing and supporting the development of mechanisms for quality assurance of medicines.
• Promoting interventions that address affordability of medicines within the Church Health Systems (CHS). 

There are several projects in this programme area. Click on the titles to read more:

1. Access baseline studies
2. Guidelines for effective and efficient pharmaceutical services
3. More medicines for children project
4. Quality of medicines
5. Pooled procurement

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Resources

• Access to medicines in CHS in Africa - cross country analysis report (1.18 MB)
•  Saving lives...saving money (68.84 kB)
•  Handbook of supply management at first-level health care facilities (1.28 MB)
• DSO Portal
• Haiafrica medicine pricing survey
• www.psmtoolbox.org
• More resources in the EPN online resource centre

Other events and activities

• Medicine pricing survey 
• Procurement and Supply Management (PSM) Toolbox