Availability of Essential Medicines [SDG 3.B.3]
Identifying Attributes
Care Settings
Country
Publishing Organisation
Type of Quality Indicator
IOM Quality Dimension
Setting-Specific Domain
Defining Attributes
Definition
Percentage of health facilities that have a core set of relevant essential medicines available and affordable on a sustainable basis (SDG indicator)
Numerator
Number of facilities that have a core set of relevant essential medicines available and affordable
Denominator
Total number of surveyed facilities per country
Exclusions
Use of Risk Adjustment
Risk Adjustments
Stratifications
Facility type (as relevant to context): including primary care facilities (e.g., GP practices, health centres, community health posts), first-level hospitals, second-level hospitals, specialty hospitals, long-term care facilities, continuing care facilities, etc. Managing authority: public, private Subnational Urban/rural
Collection and Reporting Attributes
Type of Data Collection
Data Collection Methods
Facility survey
Frequency of Data Collection
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
Reporting Methods
Reporting Frequency
Reporting Frequency in Days
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
Source and Reference Attributes
Technical Specifications
Web Annex. Technical specifications. In: Primary health care measurement framework and indicators: monitoring health systems through a primary health care lens. Geneva: World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2022 iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/352201/9789240044234-eng.pdf?sequence=1
Link to Measurement Tools
While existing health facility survey tools such as the World Health Organization’s facility survey assessments, World Bank’s SD), and DHS program’s SPA measure availability of essential medicines, they are not all fully aligned to the SDG definition and they also do not collect information on affordability. World Health Organization. Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (www.who.int/data/datax0002collection-tools/service-availability-and-readiness-assessment-(sara)?ua=1, accessed 16 August 2021). World Health Organization. World Health Organization. Harmonized Health Facility Assessment (HHFA). March 2021 (www.who.int/ data/data-collection-tools/harmonized-health-facility-assessment/introduction, accessed 16 August 2021). The DHS Program. Service Provision Assessment. September 2020 (dhsprogram.com/publications/ publication-spaq1-spa-questionnaires-and-manuals.cfm, accessed 18 August 2021). World Bank. Service Delivery Indicators (www.sdindicators.org/, accessed 19 August 2021). To note: WHO is currently revising its facility survey modules to incorporate/address PHC-specific elements.