More than sixty per cent of Uganda’s population depends on self-medication according to the research that was made by Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda.
A sad story is said of Edna Nakyanzi had malaria symptoms, so she bought the antimalarial drug, Fansidar, without a prescription. According to Dr. Emmanuel Semugabi of Hope Clinic, Fansidar should only be prescribed to patients after the first line treatment of Coartem fails.
But Nakyanzi said that she preferred this drug because she had to take fewer doses of it. “I only take three tablets of Fansidar and go to bed and the next day I am fine. But with Coartem you have to swallow many tablets and I hate that,” said Nakyanzi.
But this week while addressing the media ahead of the world Pharmacy Day due 24th of this month, the secretary of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda Samuel Opio and Edson Munanura say that some of the factors which push people to self-medication are economics, misinformation and poor perception among others.
Opio says they have organized a camp on the 24th of this month at Kati Kati Restaurant in Kampala where health workers will educate people on the dangers of improper use of drugs.
