Public and private health institutions in Lusaka district

The problem of counterfeiting of drugs presents an enormous public health challenge. No area of the world is unaffected, but mounting evidence shows that the problem is disproportionately severe in developing and emerging market countries, which also have a high burden of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria. Since no area of the world is unaffected, it is obvious that Zambia is not spared, although there is almost complete absence of both qualitative and quantitative data on the prevalence of counterfeit and substandard drugs in the country. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the quality of Artemether/Lumefantrine, Sulphadoxine/Pyrimethamine and Quinine tablets in selected Public and Private Health Institutions in Lusaka District.