Rectal Artesunate In Pre-Referral Treatment Recommended

Mr. Noah Acolatse, Chief Executive Officer of Pharma Info Consult, a health information management consultancy, has stressed the importance of self medication in health care delivery.

Mr. Acolatse said a responsible self-medication, administered under the directions of a professional pharmacist, has its benefits and should, therefore, be promoted rather than discouraged.

He was speaking at a news conference in Accra on pre-referral treatment and the benefits and risks associated with it in the management of pain.

Mr. Acolatse said in the revised malaria policy, the focus is on addressing emergencies associated with severe malaria in children, with rectal artesunate as a life saving intervention.

The revision, he said, is considered urgent as the first line of action since the Artemisinin Combination Treatment (ACT), which is oral, can not work fast enough in cases of severe and complicated malaria.

Present at the meeting were Dr. Alex Dodo, chairman of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) and President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, and Mr. Joseph Addo, field supervisor of Mepha Research, A Swiss pharmaceutical company,   manufacturers of Plasmotrium Rectocap, a rectal anti-malarial capsule and olfen Gel, a tropical pain relief medication, which were introduced to the representatives of the media.

Dr. Dodo assured the public about efforts being made by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, especially the Community Practice Pharmacists (CPP) wing and the FDB to ensure that only quality premium medicines are available on the market through continuing and improved pharmacovigilance.