South African blogger Brett Davidson tells of an innovative internet campaign aimed at increasing access to medicines by calling for an end to “stockouts” – the problem of medicines regularly being out of stock at government health facilities. To counter government denials that stockouts are a problem, the campaigners – in Zambia, Kenya, Uganda and Malawi – held a “pill check” week where researchers visited public health institutions around their countries to check on the availability of a list of 10 essential medicines that the World Health Organisation says should be readily available in public health facilities. The team reported the results through text messages on their cellphones and the data was reflected in an online mapping of the country highlighting areas where medicines are out of stock.
http://wingseed.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/stop-stockouts-new-media-use-leads-to-mainstream-media-coverage/

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This campaign shows how citizens can use communication technology to find out and share information they have a right to – and great interest in – knowing. The harm people suffer when the hospitals they rely on for their antiretrovirals run short of stock is well known, as well as the frustration this causes health care workers who run training programmes emphasising the importance of adhering to the drug regimen. If this is a problem in your region, see if you can get a similar campaign going – or use the idea of citizens working together, using technology they have easy access to, for a common goal.