NorLevo, commonly known as the morning-after pill, is an oral contraceptive emergency pill that is prescribed for use within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
The pill should cost Rwf4,200, according to the Rwanda Health Insurance Association (RHIA) that partners with insurers and the Health Ministry to regulate the drug prices.
We learned, however, that at Rwf10,000 and Rwf15,000 some pharmacies in Kigali sell the pill.
A pharmacist who operates a Nyarugunga Sector pharmacy in Kicukiro District, on request for anonymity, told this publication that he gets the pill at Rwf3,500 on wholesale, and sells it at Rwf10,000.
“NorLevo has high demand and has no strict price regulations like other drugs. The price differs from pharmacies and demand,” he said.
According to the pharmacist, NorLevo morning-after pill is on high demand, as it has relatively few side effects.
“These pills are sometimes imported without paying taxes and sold on high prices by people who are not pharmacists,” he said.
NorLevo is among the drugs that are not covered by insurance companies, so according to players in this industry, prices are manipulated by private pharmacists.
Setting drug prices is usually a matter for RHIA, which reviews prices every six months.
The group brings together health insurance providers, pharmaceutical firms, the health ministry and the finance and economic planning ministry.
Dr. Blaise Uhagaze, RHIA’s Executive Secretary said drugs that are not protected by insurance firms in Rwanda are difficult to trace their origins of origin and therefore it is difficult to control their prices.
“This is a very critical issue. NorLevo is among other drugs that are not paid by health insurances whose prices are easily manipulated,” he said.
He added that each year, during the tariff review, the association faces the same challenges and that they have started working with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to find solutions.
Uhagaze admits that the issue inhibits public access to certain drugs, and may hinder Planned Parenthood in this particular case from morning after pill.
Emery Jocelyne Ingabire, associate director for community outreach at Health Development Initiative, a local non-governmental organization dealing with reproductive health, echoed the same point.
“This is a challenge to the accessibility of contraceptives. When the price is unregulated and mostly high, it means people cannot access at market area the drugs and that is when we see the surge in unwanted pregnancies which may result in unsafe abortions,” she explained.
Even though pills for emergency contraceptives should not replace long-term methods of family planning, duty bearers should discuss how prices can be managed and set.
Food and Drugs Authority which has the power to take the requisite action against pharmacists who exploit prices but have been unsuccessful in trying to get a response from them.
