The AGAPCO Financial Plan

Case Analysis

FULLANTE, Ma. Khristine Abelinde January 31, 2011

11088230 Health Economics

It is quite a fact that a major challenge in health care today is to provide high-
quality, and cost-effective pharmaceutical care. People who need greater access to
health care belong to the poor segment of the population. They are mainly the most
vulnerable to diseases. Realistically speaking, the poor cannot utilize much of the health
care system delivery that the country has developed because of the lack of financial
capacity to pay the drugs they need. Aside from this, the high cost of availing these
drugs is further aggravated by high cost of transportation, inaccessibility to pharmacies
(especially in rural areas), limited supply of drugs, and other out-of-pocket expenses.
The AGAPCO Financial Plan case presented to us the problems of attaining the
effectiveness and appropriateness of management in a clinical pharmacy services.
The Agence d’Approvisionment des Pharmacies Communautaires
(AGAPCO) was established under a 33 million dollar funded Rural Health Delivery
System (RHDS) project of the USAID. It has a consensual agreement with the Haiti
government through the Ministere de la Sante Publique et la Population (MSSP).
AGAPCO is a semi-autonomous agency of the MSSP. As a project within a project, as it
is fondly referred to as the “royal crown jewel” of the RHDS project. AGAPCO provides
affordable prices of a limited list of essential drugs to the poorest of the poor or the most
disadvantaged people living in Haiti. It also provides the people of Haiti with locally-
managed organizations in which they may participate directly in the improvement of the
public health of their communities (Huff-Rousselle, 1989).
Reading the case, I think AGAPCO will be effective in providing essential
medicines, at low price, to the community through a national system of community
pharmacies if and only it can effectively sell their generic drugs. It is good that AGAPCO
planned to sell generic drugs according to the assessed health needs of the population
but they should know what are the other social determinants how these people used
certain medicine. In addition, they should know what are the other social factors
experienced that give significant contribution to lack of access to these medical
supplies.
Furthermore, AGAPCO should properly manage their plan to establish
pharmacies that would have linked to either a hospital, a health center, or a dispensary.
AGAPCO should make sure that the pharmacies will be carried out smoothly and
efficiently by the staff. AGAPCO’s distribution plan should be review to attain its being
cost-effective. It should make a way to hire people that will be accountable for acquiring
the drugs and then repackaging and distributing them to the regional stores where they
will be sold at wholesale prices to the pharmacies. Prioritizing some development cost
that will support training courses to their pharmacy clerks and staffs will help them
deliver quality pharmaceutical services. Seminars that will inform providers about the
range of essential and generic name drugs that are available, as well as other expenses
such as printing costs for various promotions of the community pharmacies should also
be undertaken.
I think AGAPCO will be financially viable given their projected financing sources.
However, they should always see to it that their management, distribution and
maintenance of the service will not deteriorate. Given the chance that it can operate
well, it should be prepared to facilitate development as well. It is important that
AGAPCO can capitalize on the promotion of their drugs to the community. They can
advertise it through newspaper, radio and television or just simply develop the
appearance of the pharmacy to attract people, and gain the trust and confidence of the
patients and health workers. AGAPCO should also make appropriate price to their
drugs, and the pharmacies should make sure that drugs are readily available. A well-
functioning store will always be recognized by the buyers.

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References:

Overholt & Saunders. (1996). Policy Choices & Practical Problems in Health Economics. World Bank.

Folland, Goodman, Stano. (1993). The Economics of Health and Health Care. New York: Macmillan
Publishing Company.

Huff-Rousselle, M. (1989). Evaluation of Agence d’Approvisionment des Pharmacies Communautaires

(AGAPCO) Haiti. USAID: Technologies for Primary Health Care Project. Retrieved on January 26,
2010 at http://www.theglobalfund.org/documents/trp/CV_MaggieHuffRousselle.pdf