Anti-malaria medicines

The year 2004 was a landmark in the procurement of new anti-malaria medicines. Supply Division has emerged as a leader in coordinating the transition to the use of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) for malaria, and in procuring these
medicines.

The predicted increase in demand for ACTs, now the recommended therapy to treat P. falciparum malaria, was realised in 2004, and this demand is likely to rise even further in coming years. In 2004, Supply Division procured $6.7 million worth of ACTs (in 2003 the figure was $1 million), $70,000 worth of other artemisinin-based medicines, and $1.6 million worth of monotherapies. This represents over 11.6 million ACT treatments, procured primarily for Burundi (over 7million treatments), Ethiopia (2.9 million) and Sudan (1.5 million), as well as Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia, Sierra Leone and Liberia. It is predicted that the global demand for ACTs will rise to over 130 million treatments in 2005.

This creates significant challenges in terms of supplying the demand, absorbing the extra cost (ACTs are at least ten times more expensive than previous generation drug options), and encouraging remaining countries to change their medicine policies. Supply Division has also taken a leading role in communicating with the pharmaceutical industry regarding the transition to ACTs. The Division continues to work with WHO and other partners on accurately forecasting the demand for ACT medicines in coming years, and reviewing funding commitments and potential production capacities globally.

Related: