Abstract:
Diseases causing high mortality in children under
5 years of age in resource limited settings (RLS) could
be treated if children in these countries had access to
existing medicines. It took 30 years before the WHO
Essential Medicines List (EML) considered the issue of
medicines for children, with the fi rst EML for children
being published in 2007. Recent data indicate that less
than half of the key paediatric essential medicines are
available in countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Problems
include substandard medicines, irrational use of
medicines, ineffi ciency and even possible corruption
in pharmaceutical management systems. These are
global issues which affect RLS most. Clinical trials in
developing countries for the benefi t of children are
needed but challenging in several ways. In this review,
the authors will consider the following areas where
progress could improve paediatric pharmacotherapy in
RLS: registration and regulation of medicines, rational
use of medicines, clinical trials in children and restriction
of corruption in pharmaceutical management systems.
