• P Nkoli Mandoko, V Sinou, D Moke Mbongi, D Ngoyi Mumba, G Kahunu Mesia, J Losimba Likwela, S Bi Shamamba Karhemere, L Muepu Tshilolo, J-J Tamfum Muyembe, and D Parzy.
• Institut national de recherche biomédicale (INRB), Kinshasa, The Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Med Mal Infect. 2018 Jun 1; 48 (4): 269-277.

ObjectiveArtemisinin-based combination therapies have been available since 2005 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to treat malaria and to overcome the challenge of anti-malarial drug resistance as well as to improve access to effective treatments. The private sector is the primary distribution source for anti-malarial drugs and thus, has a key position among the supply chain actors for a rational and proper use of anti-malarial drugs. We aimed to assess access to nationally recommended anti-malarial drugs in private sector pharmacies of the capital-city of Kinshasa.MethodWe performed a cross-sectional survey of 404 pharmacies.ResultsAnti-malarial drugs were stocked in all surveyed pharmacies. Non-artemisinin-based anti-malarial therapies such as quinine or sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, were the most frequently stocked drugs (93.8% of pharmacies). Artemisinin-based combination therapies were stocked in 88% of pharmacies. Artemether-lumefantrine combinations were the most frequently dispensed drugs (93% of pharmacies), but less than 3% were quality-assured products. Other non-officially recommended artemisinin-based therapies including oral monotherapies were widely available.ConclusionArtemisinin-based combination therapies were widely available in the private pharmacies of Kinshasa. However, the private sector does not guarantee the use of nationally recommended anti-malarial drugs nor does it give priority to quality-assured anti-malarial drugs. These practices contribute to the risk of emergence and spread of resistance to anti-malarial drugs and to increasing treatment costs.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

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