Availability, Prices and Affordability of Antibiotics Stocked by Informal Providers in Rural India: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

ABSTRACT: Providers without formal training deliver healthcare and antibiotics across rural India, but little is known about the antibiotics that they stock. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of such informal providers (IPs) in two districts of West Bengal, and assessed the availability of the antibiotics, as well as their sales volumes, retail prices, percentage markups for IPs and affordability. Of the 196 IPs that stocked antibiotics, 85% stocked tablets, 74% stocked syrups/suspensions/drops and 18% stocked injections. Across all the IPs, 42 antibiotic active ingredients were stocked, which comprised 278 branded generics from 74 manufacturers. The top five active ingredients that were stocked were amoxicillin potassium clavulanate (52% of the IPs), cefixime (39%), amoxicillin (33%), azithromy

SUBMITTER: Gautham M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9026796 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature