Requirements For The Establishment Of Addo In Tanzania
ADDO stands for Accredited Drug Dispensing Outlets, a program that was established in 2003 to improve access to essential medicines and pharmaceutical services to the population living in rural and peri-urban areas where there were no pharmacies.
The implementation of the project started in early February 2002 to July 2005 as a pilot project in Ruvuma whereby after the evaluation various options and criteria were put in place to discuss modalities on how the program could be rolled out countrywide
Under TFDA the program was rolled out countrywide successfully between 2005 – 2012 and in 2013 the program was handed over to the Pharmacy Council due to legislation changes through the enactment of the Pharmacy Act, Cap 311.
Since 2013, the Council continued to sustain the gains obtained during the rollout phase by implementing various initiatives aimed at enhancing sustainability and maintaining the ADDO shops. These initiatives include (i) Integrating the use of modern ICT in the management and oversight of ADDO; (ii) Institutionalize ADDO training; (iii) Strengthening the ADDO inspection and audit system; (iv) Expanding the role of ADDO Associations; and (v) Strengthening the linkage between ADDOs, Community Health Workers and Health Facility services.
During this phase, other countries visited Tanzania to learn the best practices and some of them adopted the ADDO model. To date, 13 countries visited include Uganda, Liberia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, DRC Congo, Burundi, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Zambia, and Madagascar.
Until August 2019, over 25578 ADDO dispensers have been trained and 14,036 outlets are accredited to dispense medicines in rural areas.
What is the Addo course in Tanzania?
The ADDO program was designed to complement the government and development partners’ efforts in improving the quality of life and well-being of Tanzanians by devising and implementing a well-regulated private pharmaceutical delivery system that reaches all population groups with affordable quality medicines.
What is the importance of Addo in Tanzania?
The ADDO program in Tanzania provides proof of concept and lessons on how an innovative public–private initiative can address shortages in the number of qualified health care providers by training and accrediting retail drug dispensers to recognize and treat common conditions and provide quality pharmaceutical products