The theft of medicines costs governments and donors billions of dollars annually. In Malawi, the government loses about 30 percent of the drugs and medical supplies it purchases to theft. Despite years of donor-funded third-party distribution systems, a survey in 2015 found that 35 percent of private clinics were selling donor-supplied anti-malarial drugs that had been donated for free use. This evaluation will test the impact of different informational interventions on reducing drug theft, including providing information to clinic officials about a government tracking program to monitor drug supplies in each clinic and the penalties associated with stolen drugs; training communities to obtain information and monitor and report on drug delivery dates, drug availability, and clinic responsibilities; and a combination intervention.
| Country | Malawi |
| Title | Deterring medication theft through information |
| Evaluation design | We propose a technology-based audit tool—a ‘remote tracking audit’—to provide new insight into the causes and consequences of medicine theft. We partner with the Ministry of Health to placeelectronic tracking devices in 2,387 medicine boxes. The devices provide real-time data on medicine locations. |
| Main outcomes | Scale, timing and consequences of medicine theft |
| Team | Brigitte Seim, Clark Gibson, Ryan Jablonski, Mariana Carvalho Barbosa |