Over 50% of children’s fevers in many parts of Africa are treated with drugs bought in markets and shops. How can we make sure these treatments are in the best interests of the patients, particularly as countries move to more effective but costly artemisinin-based combination therapy?

The RBM Case Management Working Group held a meeting in Accra in 2004 on "The Role of Medicine Sellers in the Management of Malaria: What’s worked and where do we go from here?" The report makes recommendations on how Ministries of Health and RBM Partners can engage the private sector to improve access to effective treatment.. As background to the meeting BASICS and the Malaria Consortium prepared a review "Interventions to Improve the Role of Medicine Sellers in Malaria Case Management for Children in Africa".

Both documents can also be consulted on the Basics and Malaria Consortium websites www.basics.org and www.malariaconsortium.org