Table 2.

Probable reasons for insufficient drug supplies with comments, ordered according to assumed degree of importance

Reason	Comment
Insufficient deliveries from the Regional Medical Store	The median fraction of the ordered drugs received by the health centres was 18 % (see Table 1)
Stocked supplies not recorded as having been given to patients	For December 2004 we observed a median difference of 66 % between Stock Cards and Patient Records. The highest was for chloramphenicol (92 %) and lowest for benzyl penicillin (29 %)
Uneven distribution of drugs among health centres	Injectable drugs (quinine and chloramphenicol) were unequally distributed among health centres both at audit and throughout the year (see text)
Problems with certain therapeutic indications	Drugs for acute malaria were in better supply than drugs for pneumonia (see Figure)
Lack of training	None of the health workers managing the drugs in the eight health centres were trained in drug management nor in bookkeeping