Introduction Non-medicated cosmetics use is very common among the Ethiopian population. However, little is known about these products’ related adverse events. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and determinants of cosmetics-related adverse events among Jigjiga Town residents, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted in May and June 2014. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect cosmetics use pattern and related adverse events. For assessing determinants, logistic regression was used and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results Overall, 600 participants were approached with a 93% response rate. Ninety-three percent (n = 521) of them reported the use of cosmetics at least once within 2 weeks prior to this study, and of these, 229 (44%) used traditional herbal cosmetics along with modern cosmetics. A total of 342 (61%) reported experiencing adverse events of which the most common reported were: allergic reactions, 149 (36%); the appearance of acne, 66 (16%); and hirsutism, 52 (12.5%). The occurrence of cosmetics-related adverse events were significantly associated with the number of cosmetics used per day, the frequency of use, mixing of different types of cosmetics together, and mixing of cosmetics with water or saliva. Conclusion A higher proportion of cosmetic users reported experiencing at least one adverse event. The number of cosmetic products and frequency of use were important predictors for experiencing adverse events. This implies the need to consider safety concerns related to cosmetic use. Approaches to address such issues may include awareness creation programs and promoting the concept of cosmetovigilance among cosmetic sellers, users, and other stakeholders.

Clinical pharmacy service has evolved steadily over the past few decades and is now contributing to the ‘patient care journey’ at all stages. It is improving the safety and effectiveness of medicines and has made a significant contribution to the avoidance of medication errors. In Ethiopia, clinical pharmacy service is in its initial phase, being started in July 2013. This study therefore aimed at assessing the status, challenges and way forward of clinical pharmacy service in the country. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in six regional states and one city- administration in September 2014. A total of 51 hospitals were included in the study. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed for data collection. A total of 160 pharmacy graduates, and 51 pharmacy heads participated in the study. Internal Medicine and Pediatric wards were the major wards where the graduates provide clinical pharmacy service. Almost 94% of the new graduates were found to be involved in clinical pharmacy service, but 47% of them rated their service as poor. The overall satisfaction of the graduates was close to 36%. Thirteen hospitals discontinued and two hospitals not even initiated the service largely due to shortage of pharmacists and lack of management support. About 44% of the surveyed hospitals documented the clinical pharmacy service provided using either developed or adopted formats. Lack of awareness by the medical fraternity, high attrition rate, lack of support from the management as well as from the health care team, readiness of the graduates to deliver the service, and shortage of pharmacists were identified by the key informants as the major stumbling block to deliver clinical pharmacy service. Clinical pharmacy service is initiated in most of the surveyed hospitals and a large proportion of the graduates were involved in the service. Although there is a great enthusiasm to promote clinical pharmacy service in the surveyed hospitals, efforts made to institutionalize the service is minimal. Thus, concerted efforts need to be exerted to promote the service through organizing awareness forums as well as revisiting the curriculum.

Background: Clinical pharmacy service has evolved steadily over the past few decades and is contributing to the ‘patient care journey’ at all stages. The service improves safety and effectiveness of medicines, thereby avoiding medication errors. As part of this global shift in pharmacy education and practice, Ethiopian Universities revamped the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum and the first graduates came out in July 2013. These graduates were immediately deployed in public hospital settings, with the ultimate aim of providing clinical pharmacy services. As such an initiative is new to the Ethiopian pharmacy sector, there is a need to do assessment of the health care providers’ perception and satisfaction towards the service. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using self-administered questionnaire was conducted in six regions and one-city administration of the country. Physicians, Health officers and Nurses working along with the new pharmacy graduates formed the study population. A total of 650 healthcare professionals participated in the study. Data were entered, cleaned and analyzed using appropriate statistical tools. Results: Majority of the health care providers agreed that clinical pharmacy service could have a significant contribution to the patient care. A large proportion of them (70–90 %) had a positive attitude, although there appeared to be some differences across professions. About 50 % of the professionals were of the opinion that patient care should be left to the health care providers and pharmacists should concentrate on drug products. In addition, the same proportion of respondents said that the setup in their respective hospital was appropriate for provision of clinical pharmacy service. Multivariable analysis indicated that attitude of the health care providers was significantly associated with year of experience. Conclusions: A large proportion of the health care providers had positive attitude towards the service, although the extent of the service was below their expectation. Hence, efforts should be in place to organize continuous professional training for pharmacists and awareness creation forums for other healthcare professionals.

Background: It was estimated that over a billion people have a disability and around 110 to 190 million experienced significant difficulties in functioning. Similarly, there were over 5 million and 32,630 individuals with disability in Ethiopia and Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, respectively. Health care is a human right, yet access barriers to healthcare remain one of the major challenges among people with disabilities. Community pharmacists are often the health system point of entry for most patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the barriers to community pharmacy service for individuals with physical, visual and hearing disability in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross sectional phenomenological qualitative study design was employed to explore the barriers to community pharmacy service for individuals with Physical, Visual and Hearing disability. All members from Ethiopian National Association of the Blind (ENAB), Ethiopian National Association of the Deaf (ENAD) and Ethiopian National Association of persons with Physical Disability (ENAPPD) and all community pharmacy professionals in Addis Ababa were the study populations in this study. The analysis was made using content analysis where ideas were classified into themes manually. Result: All informants with disability pointed out that community pharmacy services were not accessible to them. The study found transportation, physical layout, communication and medication price were the main barriers to obtain community pharmacy services among individuals with visual, physical and hearing disabilities. Respondents also witnessed that pharmacists provided proper counseling and were also cooperative and willing to help them. Conclusions: This study indicated that individuals with disability experienced different access barriers to community pharmacy services. Further studies are recommended to identify other community pharmacy disparities and access barriers to pharmacy services and propose possible solutions.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the most substantial health crisis in the 21st Century. This pandemic interrupted the supply of essential commodities for human beings. Among the essential commodities for human survival, disruption of the supply of essential health commodities has become a global concern. Objective: The study aimed to systematically analyze published articles on the challenges, impacts, and prospects of the global health commodities’ supply chain in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A standard searching strategy was conducted in seven research databases to retrieve pertinent articles. Finally, 459 articles were retrieved for further screening, and only 13 articles were selected for final synthesis. Results: Almost 38.5% of the studies targeted the supply chain of health commodities used to treat HIV, TB, and malaria. Lockdown policies, travel restrictions, lack of transportation, low manufacturing capacity, and rising costs were the significant challenges indicated for the supply interruption of essential health commodities and COVID-19 vaccines. Findings indicated that the supply interruption of essential health commodities leads to a devastating impact on global health. Conclusion: Global medicine shortages due to the pandemic crisis can have a devastatingly harmful impact on patient outcomes and might result in a devastatingly long-lasting effect on the health of the world community. Supply-related challenges of the COVID-19 vaccine affect countries’ ambitions for achieving herd immunity quickly. Monitoring the pandemic’s effect on the health commodities’ supply system and designing a short-term and long-term resilient health supply chain system that can cope with current and future health catastrophes is pivotal.

Mass drug administration with antibiotics predominantly with azithromycin is one of the four arms of the SAFE strategy. The elimination of ocular chlamydial infection is only achieved as long as the azithromycin mass treatments (AMT) are given frequently enough and at a high enough coverage. This study was conducted to assess the coverage of azithromycin mass treatment and its determinants in Awi Zone, Northwestern Ethiopia. House to house survey using a structured questionnaire was done between July 7 to July 25, 2013. Coverage is defined as the proportion of individuals in the eligible population who actually ingested the Azithromycin during the Campaign. A total of 1267 households were enrolled in the survey in which 5826 eligible members were living in these households. Almost half (54.6%) of the community members who were eligible for all six campaigns had participated in more than three campaigns of azithromycin mass treatment. The overall average self-reported coverage of the azithromycin mass treatment (AMT) in all six campaigns was 62.8% (64% in rural vs. 61.6% urban). On average, each eligible person had taken the drug 3.77 times. The rural residents were significantly more likely to have received treatment during the last round of AMT in 2012 {AOR = 2.35; 95% CI [1.80–3.06]}. Azithromycin uptake status of female household heads was less than the corresponding male household heads {AOR = 0.41; 95% CI [0.24–0.72]}. Household heads’ awareness about trachoma (AOR = 2.55; 95% CI [1.19–5.44]) and AMT {AOR = 7.19; 95% CI [3.27–15.82]} had positive association with acceptability. The overall average AMT coverage was found to be low. There was low coverage of the treatment in the urban community as compared to the rural residents. Misconceptions of household heads about trachoma and azithromycin have negatively affected the coverage. Further work on why female household heads are associated with higher risk of non-participation in AMT is warranted. Strengthening awareness creation and consideration of additional campaigns is essential.