Availability of MgSO4
Three in five providers (61 %) reported that MgSO4was
available for the treatment of PE/E in their facilities.
However, while 38.8 % reported non-availability of
MgSO4,about 56 % of the surveyed facilities were unable
to produce samples of MgSO4 on demand. Nearly 30 %
of facilities had never received a supply of MgSO4. Hospitals were significantly more likely to have MgSO4
available than any other type of facility (p= 0.01)
(Table 3). Of the 44 % (N = 35) that had some supplies
of MgSO4in stock on the day of the survey, more than
half (54 %) reported they had experienced at least one
stock-out in the preceding 12 months. Furthermore, 9 %
of providers reported an ongoing stock-out at the time
of the survey; another 8 % of providers reported stockout that had occurred within three months of the study.
Non-availability of MgSO4 due to stock-out was reported by 49 % of providers, and was an important barrier to the management of PE/E. During stock-out, most
providers asked clients to buy the medicine from private
pharmacies