ArticleBMC cancer2021
Evaluating essential medicines for treating childhood cancers: availability, price and affordability study in Ghana.
Article in BMC cancer, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Global, regional and national availability of essential medicines for children, 2009-2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2023Pooled it
- Article
- Availability of essential medicines for non-communicable diseases: a scoping review of challenges and opportunities.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Access to pediatric oncology medicine in Iran: a cross-sectional survey in Urmia.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Pediatric Cancers in Southern Ghana: A Retrospective Observational Study.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Cost-effectiveness and budget impact of covering Burkitt lymphoma in children under Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme.Cost effectiveness and resource allocation : C/E · 2025Article
- Medicine availability and affordability for paediatric cancers, China.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2025Article
- The financial burden of noncommunicable diseases from out-of-pocket expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.Health promotion international · 2024Article
- Access to essential and innovative anti-cancer medicines: a longitudinal study in Nanjing, China.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Financial burden faced by breastfeeding mothers caring for children diagnosed with cancer in Ghana; an exploratory qualitative study.BMC women's health · 2024Article
- Pharmacists' approach to oncology medicine shortages: results of a cross-sectional survey in Pakistan.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Variations in global prices of chemotherapy for childhood cancer: a descriptive analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2023Article
- A comprehensive survey of cancer medicines prices, availability and affordability in Ghana.PloS one · 2023Article
- The direct cost incurred by patients and caregivers in diagnosing and managing prostate cancer in Ghana.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Price, Availability and Affordability of Anti-Cancer Medicines in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2022Article
- Accessibility of essential anticancer medicines for children in the Sichuan Province of China.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionAccess to childhood cancer medicines is a critical global health challenge. There is a lack of sufficient context-specific data in Ghana on access to essential medicines for treating childhood cancers. Here, we present an analysis of essential cancer medicine availability, pricing, and affordability using the pediatric oncology unit of a tertiary hospital as the reference point.
methodData on prices and availability of 20 strength-specific essential cancer medicines and eight non-cancer medicines were evaluated using the modified World Health Organization (WHO)/Health Action International method. Two pharmacies in the hospital and four private pharmacies around the hospital were surveyed. We assessed their median price ratio using the WHO international reference price guide. The number of days wages per the government daily wage salary was used to calculate the affordability of medicines.
resultsThe mean availability of essential cancer medicines and non-cancer medicines at the hospital pharmacies were 27 and 38% respectively, and 75 and 84% respectively for private pharmacies. The median price ratio of cancer medicines was 1.85, and non-cancer medicines was 3.75. The estimated cost of medicines for treating a 30 kg child with Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia was GHȻ 4928.04 (US$907.56) and GHȻ 4878.00 (US$902.62) for Retinoblastoma, requiring 417 and 413-days wages respectively for the lowest-paid unskilled worker in Ghana.
conclusionThe mean availability of cancer medicines at the public and private pharmacies were less than the WHO target of 80%. The median price ratio for cancer and non-cancer medicines was less than 4, yet the cost of medicines appears unaffordable in the local setting. A review of policies and the establishment of price control could improve availability and reduce medicines prices for the low-income population.
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