Technical report : summary of results -- prices and availability of pharmaceuticals in Kazakhstan"s pharmacies

That survey was detailed in the Survey on Prices and Availability of Pharmaceuticals in the Pharmacies of Karaganda City, Kazakhstan by Alexandr Gulyaev, Talgat Nurgozhin, Grace Hafner et al, available through the USAID/ZdravPlus Project. This article reports the results of a monitoring survey of prices and availability of 85 medications in 21 pharmacies of Karaganda City, Kazakhstan, which was conducted from December 2000 through May 2001. This survey was the result of a local government request and is being used to help inform policy decisions. Kazakhstan.s retail pharmacy market has been largely privatized since 1996, with no price controls in place. The pharmacy market in Kazakhstan itself is highly developed, with intense competition and many available products. This survey concentrated on drugs from the official essential drug list of the Republic of Kazakhstan, since this list comprises the most necessary and efficacious medications, which should cover at least 80 percent of common conditions. (Author abstract)