Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Mar 10:5:70.
doi: 10.12688/gatesopenres.13200.2. eCollection 2021.

Drug and Therapeutics Committee (DTC) evolvement and expanded scope in Ethiopia

Habtamu Seyoum  1 , Zinabie Feleke  1 , Dinkineh Bikila  1 , Alebel Yaregal  1 , Amsalu Demisie  1 , Seid Ali  1 , Salem Fisseha  1 , Yigeremu Abebe  1 , Audrey Battu  2 , Felix Lam  2 , Regasa Bayisa  3
Affiliations

Drug and Therapeutics Committee (DTC) evolvement and expanded scope in Ethiopia

Habtamu Seyoum et al. Gates Open Res. .

Abstract

As a key partner of Ministry of Health (MOH) Ethiopia, The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) had been implementing the Child Survival Project (CSP) since October 2015. Strengthening DTC was one of its focuses to improve overall supply chain management (SCM). The objective of this study are to review the evolution of DTCs in Ethiopia from their early years to current practice and identify the major driving and hindering factors for their functionality. A descriptive mixed study design was employed. The study made use of qualitative data supplemented with quantitative data, generated from both primary and secondary sources through key informant interviews and desk review methods. DTCs were introduced in Ethiopia in the early 1980s. The mandate of DTCs has been given to four different government organizations during that time. As a result, due to a lack of coordination among these organizations, its implementation was lagging. Recently, the government and its partners have given attention to DTCs. More than 5847 professionals underwent DTC training from 2016 onwards. DTC establishment in health facilities improved from 85% to 98% between 2015 and 2019 during baseline and end-line assessments carried out by CHAI/CSP. Similarly, DTC functionality in HFs improved from 20% to 63%. The CHAI/CSP regular supervision data analysis revealed that DTC establishment improved from 83% to 100% of HFs, while its functionality improved from 5% to 72% between 2016 and 2019, respectively. A chi-square test of independence examining the relationship between facility and pharmacy head training on DTCs and functionality of DTC in the same facility revealed a significant association between the two variables at p<0.0001. Conclusions: Providing consistent capacity building and availing strong monitoring and evaluation system improves functionality of DTCs. Moreover, national coordinating bodies for DTCs and similar structures at Regional Health Bureaus and woreda health offices should be established.

Keywords: DTC; Establishment; Functionality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No competing interests were disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Evolution (milestones) of DTCs in Ethiopia.
DTC, Drug and Therapeutics Committee; MOH, Ministry of Health; DACA, Drug Administration and Control Authority of Ethiopia; FMHACA, Food, Medicine and Health Care Administration and Control Authority; PFSA, Pharmaceutical Fund and Supply Agency; EPSA, Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Agency; PTC, Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee; M&E, monitoring and evaluation.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Benefits of DTC as per the interview’s response compared with DTC functions in WHO guidelines.
DTC, Drug and Therapeutics Committee; DIS, drug information system; STG, standard treatment guideline; FSML, Financial Services Markup Language; WHO, World Health Organization.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. Functionality of DTC BLA Vs ELA by region.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.. Trend analysis, % of HCs established DTC with official letter and DTC TOR.
HF, health facility; DTC, Drug and Therapeutics Committee; TOR, terms of reference; HC, health center; SS, supportive supervision.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.. Trend analysis, % of HCs with DTC functional for all five indicators.
HC, health center; DTC, Drug and Therapeutics Committee; SS, supporting supervision.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. FMOH/PFSA: National Assessment on Functional Status and Perceived Effectiveness of Drug and Therapeutics Committees at Public Hospitals in Ethiopia.2014.
    1. WHO. World Health Organization (WHO): Drug and therapeutics committees: Vehicle for improving drug use. Essential Drugs Monitor. 2003;32(10).
    1. Weekes LM, Brooks C, Day RO: Indicators for Drug and Therapeutics Committees. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1998;45(4):393–8. 10.1046/j.1365-2125.1998.t01-1-00699.x - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nash D: Reinventing the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. P T. 2012. Reference Source - PMC - PubMed
    1. Holloway K, Green T, Carandang E, et al. : Essential Medicines and Health Products Portal, Drug and therapeutics committees: A practical guide.2003.