In 2009 a coalition of Civil Society Organizations in 5 African countries, including Uganda, joined in a campaign to stop stock-outs of essential medicines in public health facilities. Through a variety of activities, including strategic partnerships, monitoring of medicines, press conferences, public rallies, radio talk shows, and using SMS messaging to conduct pill checks, they have already made significant strides in getting the issue on public agendas and creating monitoring systems. In this presentation Denis Kibira, of the Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development, discusses his experience using ICT and SMS messaging to monitor pill supplies in Uganda. He discusses what the tools can achieve as well as drawbacks, and practical tips on implementing them.
