IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v73y2011i8p1249-1256.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Where do pharmaceuticals on the market originate? An analysis of the informal drug supply in Cotonou, Benin

Author

Listed:
  • Baxerres, Carine
  • Le Hesran, Jean-Yves

Abstract

This anthropological study, conducted in Cotonou, Benin between 2005 and 2007, investigates the informal pharmaceuticals market. It was carried out through a long-term participant observation of informal vendors and semi-directive and unstructured interviews. A classification of products sold in the informal market was developed. The fact that a high percentage of them come from Anglophone countries near Benin (Nigeria and Ghana) led to a comparison of the sources of pharmaceutical supply in these three countries as well as their current legislation regarding pharmaceutical distribution. Our study results highlight a new understanding of the phenomenon of the informal market. Nigeria and Ghana rely on a liberal pharmaceutical distribution system with little intervention from public authorities. Conversely, the government maintains considerable influence over pharmaceutical distribution in Benin. Hence, the differences between these three countries in terms of variety of supply sources and flexibility of access to drugs are understood through an investigation of Benin’s informal market. Therefore, it appears that beyond issues concerning the quality of the pharmaceuticals, this phenomenon illustrates a kind of liberalization of pharmaceutical distribution and the ensuing public health issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Baxerres, Carine & Le Hesran, Jean-Yves, 2011. "Where do pharmaceuticals on the market originate? An analysis of the informal drug supply in Cotonou, Benin," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(8), pages 1249-1256.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:73:y:2011:i:8:p:1249-1256
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.03.050
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611004588
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.03.050?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nichter, Mark & Vuckovic, Nancy, 1994. "Agenda for an anthropology of pharmaceutical practice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 1509-1525, December.
    2. Kamat, Vinay R. & Nichter, Mark, 1998. "Pharmacies, self-medication and pharmaceutical marketing in Bombay, India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 779-794, September.
    3. Goel, P. & Ross-Degnan, D. & Berman, P. & Soumerai, S., 1996. "Retail pharmacies in developing countries: A behavior and intervention framework," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 1155-1161, April.
    4. Vuckovic, Nancy & Nichter, Mark, 1997. "Changing patterns of pharmaceutical practice in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(9), pages 1285-1302, May.
    5. Van Der Geest, Sjaak, 1987. "Self-care and the informal sale of drugs in South Cameroon," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 293-305, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chatterjee, Chirantan & Mohapatra, Debi Prasad & Estay, Manuel, 2019. "From courts to markets: New evidence on enforcement of pharmaceutical bans in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Hamill, Heather & Hampshire, Kate & Mariwah, Simon & Amoako-Sakyi, Daniel & Kyei, Abigail & Castelli, Michele, 2019. "Managing uncertainty in medicine quality in Ghana: The cognitive and affective basis of trust in a high-risk, low-regulation context," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 234(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Hampshire, Kate & Porter, Gina & Owusu, Samuel Asiedu & Mariwah, Simon & Abane, Albert & Robson, Elsbeth & Munthali, Alister & DeLannoy, Ariane & Bango, Andisiwe & Gunguluza, Nwabisa & Milner, James, 2015. "Informal m-health: How are young people using mobile phones to bridge healthcare gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 90-99.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carla F. Rodrigues, 2020. "Self-medication with antibiotics in Maputo, Mozambique: practices, rationales and relationships," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Chandler, Clare I.R. & Hall-Clifford, Rachel & Asaph, Turinde & Pascal, Magnussen & Clarke, Siân & Mbonye, Anthony K., 2011. "Introducing malaria rapid diagnostic tests at registered drug shops in Uganda: Limitations of diagnostic testing in the reality of diagnosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(6), pages 937-944, March.
    3. Markus Larsson & Karen Odberg Pettersson & John Kashiha & Michael W Ross & Anette Agardh, 2016. "Stretching the Boundaries: Tanzanian Pharmacy Workers’ Views and Experiences of Providing STI Services for Men Who Have Sex with Men," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-22, November.
    4. Chalker, J. & Ratanawijitrasin, S. & Chuc, N. T. K & Petzold, M. & Tomson, G., 2005. "Effectiveness of a multi-component intervention on dispensing practices at private pharmacies in Vietnam and Thailand--a randomized controlled trial," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 131-141, January.
    5. Childerhose, Janet E. & MacDonald, Margaret E., 2013. "Health consumption as work: The home pregnancy test as a domesticated health tool," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1-8.
    6. Mackay, Bruce, 2008. "From life insurance to safer sex - Reflections of a marketing man," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 2168-2172, May.
    7. Andia, Tatiana & Mantilla, Cesar & Rodriguez-Lesmes, Paul & Criado, Leonel & Gomez, Juan Sebastian & Ortiz, Santiago & Quintero, Andrea & Rincón, Heiner & Romero, Steffanny, 2020. "Mentioning anosmia improves how community pharmacies handle phone call requests during the COVID-19 pandemic: An audit study in Colombia," SocArXiv s2z47, Center for Open Science.
    8. Kamat, Vinay R. & Nyato, Daniel J., 2010. "Soft targets or partners in health? Retail pharmacies and their role in Tanzania's malaria control program," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 626-633, August.
    9. Briggs, Charles L., 2011. "“All Cubans are doctors!” news coverage of health and bioexceptionalism in Cuba," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(7), pages 1037-1044.
    10. Craig, Sienna R. & Adams, Lisa V. & Spielberg, Stephen P. & Campbell, Benjamin, 2009. "Pediatric therapeutics and medicine administration in resource-poor settings: A review of barriers and an agenda for interdisciplinary approaches to improving outcomes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 1681-1690, December.
    11. Väänänen, Minna Heleena & Lyles, Alan & Airaksinen, Marja, 2009. "The symptom mitigation path of mobile community residents: Community pharmacy's role," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 14-25, January.
    12. Ramdas, Sahienshadebie, 2012. "Cruel disease, cruel medicine: Self-treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with harmful chemical substances in Suriname," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(6), pages 1097-1105.
    13. Maria Vittoria Levati & Ivan Soraperra & Saba Yifredew, 2023. "How to Curb Over-The-Counter Sales of Antibiotics? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Ethiopia," Working Papers 10/2023, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    14. Foster, S. D., 1990. "Improving the supply and use of essential drugs in sub-Saharan Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 456, The World Bank.
    15. Luechai Sringernyuang & Tida Sottiyotin, 2022. "“Ya Luk Ka Tan Yoo”: An Ethnography of Filial Piety Culture, Medication Usage, and Health Perceptions of the Elderly in Rural Southern Thailand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-10, September.
    16. Pitaknetinan, Kitti & Tangcharoensathien, Viroj & Supachutikul, Anuwat & Bennett, Sara & Mills, Anne, 1999. "Profit, payment and pharmaceutical practices: perspectives from hospitals in Bangkok," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 179-194, March.
    17. Hoa, Nguyen Quynh & Ohman, Ann & Lundborg, Cecilia Stalsby & Chuc, Nguyen Thi Kim, 2007. "Drug use and health-seeking behavior for childhood illness in Vietnam--A qualitative study," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(3), pages 320-329, August.
    18. Muhammad Majid Aziz & Minghuan Jiang & Imran Masood & Jie Chang & Shan Zhu & Muhammad Ali Raza & Wenjing Ji & Caijun Yang & Yu Fang, 2019. "Patients’ Anticipation for the Pharmacies of Rural Communities: A Qualitative Study from Pakistan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-14, January.
    19. Daniel Bennett & Wesley Yin, 2014. "The Market for High-Quality Medicine," NBER Working Papers 20091, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Kamat, Vinay R., 2014. "Fast, cheap, and out of control? Speculations and ethical concerns in the conduct of outsourced clinical trials in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 48-55.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:73:y:2011:i:8:p:1249-1256. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.