Price of Malaria Drugs Cost-Prohibitive for Low-Income People in Tanzania, Health Minister Says
The price of malaria drugs in Tanzania, which can be up to $10 per treatment course, is cost-prohibitive for many low-income people, Health Minister David Mwakyusa said Tuesday during an event to launch a pediatric version of Novartis' artemisinin-based combination therapy Coartem in the capital of Dar es Salaam, IRIN News reports. According to IRIN News, the new pediatric version, called Coartem Dispersible, will be sold for 37 cents per dose for young children.
"Malaria is a disease of the poorest of the poor and such a cost is prohibitively high to the sick rural poor," Mwakyusa said, adding, "There is a need for concerted effort to bring down the costs [of ACTs] as was the case with chloroquine." Officials at the event noted that many children resist the adult formulation of Coartem, especially when it is crushed and mixed with water, because it is bitter-tasting. "Coartem Dispersible tablets enable parents to give the sweet-tasting malaria medicine to their children more easily and, in the process, ensure they receive full and effective doses," Silvio Gabriel, executive vice president and head of Novartis' malaria initiative, said.
According to Mwakyusa, about 90% of Tanzania's population is at risk of malaria (IRIN News, 2/18).
