Awareness and Utilization of Affordable Medicine Facility-Malaria among Caregivers of Under-Five Children in Ibadan North-West Local Government Area, Oyo State
Introduction. Distribution of Affordable Medicine Facility-malaria Artemisinin Combination Therapies (AMFm-ACTs) started in Nigeria in 2011, but its use at community level has not been documented. Methods. Four hundred seventy-eight caregivers whose under-five children had fever within two weeks prior to the survey were selected using cluster sampling technique. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, treatment seeking for malaria, and awareness and use of AMFm-ACTs was collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Result. More than half of the respondents (51.2%) bought AMFm-ACTs without prescription. Awareness of AMFm was low as only 9.1% has heard about the programme. Overall, 29.2% used AMFm-ACTs as their first line choice of antimalarial drug. On bivariate analysis age, group (25–34 years), public servants, respondents with tertiary education, respondents with high socioeconomic status, respondents with poor knowledge of symptoms of malaria, awareness of AMFm-ACTs, availability of AMFm-ACTs, and sources of drug were significantly associated with utilization of AMFm-ACTs ( ). Logistic regression demonstrated that only people who were aware of AMFM-ACTs predicted its use (AOR: 0.073; CI: 0.032–0.166; ). Conclusion. Interventions which targeted at raising awareness of AMFm-ACTs among people at risk of malaria are advocated for implementation. 1. Background High malaria morbidity and mortality have persisted because of failed transactions between those at risk of malaria infection and available effective antimalarial drugs and preventive measures [1]. Artemisinin-Based Combination Therapies (ACTs), the most effective drugs to treat Plasmodium falciparum, malaria were recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) in 2001 for malaria endemic countries following resistance to the cheap and the long used antimalarials such as chloroquine, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, and amodiaquine and the resultant increasing burden of malaria [2]. Since the introduction, distribution of ACT has been slow [2]. Nigeria adopted ACT in 2005 and like the situation in other endemic countries access to ACTs by most people at risk of malaria has been a challenge. The ACTs are not widely used because of their high price, unreliable public sector supply, limited availability in the private sector, and patient self-medication with less expensive monotherapies [3]. In response to the low ACT access and the threat of artemisinin resistance developing in malaria parasite, the Institute of Medicine released a report in 2004 recommending the creation of a global
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