To solve the problem of essential medicines availability and affordability in the public hospital of
Burkina Faso, the Ministry of health conducted a research to implement a hospital pharmacy in each
public hospital. The survey expected outcomes include the establishment of an effective self-sustaining
essential medicines supply system and promoting community involvement in providing health care by
registered deliverance at the patient bed in each hospital. This paper aims to highlight the finding of
recent essential medicine availability and the situation of the hospital pharmacy management quality
from March 19th to May 29th, 2008. The survey has been performed in nine regional hospitals (CHR)
and three university hospitals (CHU) and was realized with five outpatients, five inpatients, pharmacists,
physicians and hospital managers. The results indicated that the public hospital system has 22 beds
per 100 000 habitants and the average ratio of the essential generic medicines procurement and supply
on the hospital budget is 0.9%. To facilitate the medicines access, each hospital is using the supply
agreement and the request for proposal or the purchasing order. The pharmaceutical products supply
and distribution problems in the hospitals are the main handicap of the health facilities in each hospital.
The average cost of prescription for one prescription costs 5187 CFA (8 Euros) in the University
Hospital Centres (CHU) and 3841 FCFA (6 Euros) in the Regional Hospital Centres (CHR). In the CHU,
only 39% of the prescribed pharmaceutical products are available, but in CHR, only 61% of the
pharmaceutical products are available. Conclusion: This survey provides evidence that the essential
medicines are less available and affordable for the households in the CHUs. In 2007, the patients spend
78%, in the CHUs, and only 07%, in the CHRs, of their gross domestic product (GDP) for paying the
essential medicines fee. For developing the hospital pharmacy, Burkina Faso must create a hospital
pharmacy supplier and build a very good status, career and treatment for the pharmacists. Therefore,
other question is how the municipality’s councils must be involved in the hospital pharmacy by the
municipal health fund?