ReviewExploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy2025
The triple burden: A systematic review and meta-analysis of essential medicine availability, price, and affordability across Ethiopian health facilities.
Review in Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Pharmaceutical import landscape in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study of importers' perspectives on business and regulatory challenges.Tropical medicine and health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Access to essential medicines is a fundamental component of achieving universal health coverage, as outlined by the World Health Organization's(WHO) framework. Despite various efforts to improve access to essential medicines, there remains a gap in comprehensive data regarding their availability, price, and affordability at health facilities in Ethiopia. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the pooled estimates of availability, price, and affordability of generic essential medicines at health facilities in Ethiopia. Methods: We conducted a complete search of electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, African Index Medicus, AJOL, Google Scholar, and Organization repositories such as the Ministry of Health, Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Service) to find relevant articles on the topic from inception to August 2025. Data was analyzed using STATA version 18.0. Random-effect model meta-analysis and descriptive statistics were performed to determine the pooled availability and affordability, respectively. Statistical significance was considered at a Results: A total of 46 studies, encompassing data from 2302 health facilities, were included in the final analysis. The overall mean availability of essential medicines was 63.89 % (± 19.48 SD). In public health facilities, the pooled availability was 64 % (95 % CI: 58 %-70 %), while in private facilities it was lower at 54 % (95 % CI: 42 %-66 %). The pooled proportion of unaffordable medicines was 62 % (95 % CI: 45 %-79 %). Analysis of the Median Price Ratios (MPRs) revealed that, in public health facilities, MPRs ranged from 0.55 to 5.21, with an overall median (IQR) of 1.45 (1.26-2.31). In private health facilities, MPRs ranged from 0.88 to 11.17, with a higher overall median (IQR) of 3.66 (2.12-4.10), reflecting greater price variability and reduced affordability in the private sector. Conclusion: The availability of generic essential medicines in Ethiopia was below the WHO target of 80 % in both public and private health facilities. Prices of these medicines were higher than international reference prices, with significant variations across sectors. About two-thirds of the evaluated medicines were unaffordable. Addressing these challenges will require coordinated efforts, including policy refinement, supply chain improvements, and context-specific interventions, to progressively enhance equitable access to essential medicines across all sectors.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.