Maisha Meds’ Antimalarial Consumption Tracker (ACT) is Africa’s most comprehensive dashboard tracking malaria medicines, with unprecedented visibility across private and public sectors

Our Dashboards

Comprehensive insights into antimalarial supply chains, consumption patterns, and market dynamics across sub-Saharan Africa

Finished Products—Trade Data

Tracks international shipments and donor procurement records of finished pharmaceuticals to each African country.

KSM/API—Trade Data

Tracks international trade of key starting materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients between countries.

Finished Products—Last-mile Data

Tracks patient-level sales across private health facilities in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Nigeria.

USE CASES

By filling critical gaps in the data, here’s how Maisha ACT turns insights into action

Revealing the True Picture of Antimalarial Demand in Africa

Until now, estimating the true demand for antimalarials in Africa was difficult. Most estimates relied heavily on public-sector data—what donors and governments procured—and limited, outdated information from private pharmacies. For example, previous estimates suggested the private sector in Tanzania accounted for just 10-35% of first-line antimalarials. Our data reveals a different picture: half of all antimalarials on the continent are distributed through by the private sector, reaching as much as 75% in countries like Tanzania in recent years. With a more complete view, global health and private sector decision-makers can now estimate and forecast in-country demand accurately—improving procurement planning, supply chain management, and strategies for market expansion and new product launches.

Medicine Quality in the Private Sector

Assessing medicine quality in Africa’s vast private sector has long been a blind spot—previously impossible without costly, limited testing at the last mile. This differs greatly from the public-sector, where donor procurement typically requires that drugs already be WHO-prequalified (PQ). Now, Maisha ACT links WHO-PQ status to individual products, revealing that nearly 80% of private-sector antimalarials in recent years are non-PQ, which are typically priced 10-20% lower than donor-procured equivalents. While these data do not confirm poor quality, they highlight an avenue for stronger oversight and post-market surveillance. For example, regulators can better target sampling and quality monitoring in the private sector by focusing on high-volume, low-price, lesser-known products—or those with existing flags for quality issues.

Mapping Antimalarial Use and Resistance Trends to Guide New Strategies

Evidence of drug resistance is growing in countries like Uganda, where Kelch13 mutations are spreading in the northern and eastern regions. There, we can also observe distinct drug usage patterns by overlaying Maisha ACT’s subnational data: These same resistance hotspots show a higher market share for less commonly used antimalarials like DHAP and artesunate. This does not by itself confirm that resistance is driving patients toward alternative treatments; however, understanding regional differences in treatment behavior—alongside factors like product availability, pricing, and preference—can help shape interventions to slow the spread of resistance, such as the deployment of multiple first-line therapies.

Anticipating Shortages through Advanced Supply Chain Monitoring

Anticipating supply chain disruptions requires an end-to-end view of the market that is often difficult to capture. Maisha ACT tracks upstream and downstream points in the supply chain—from raw materials in producing countries to finished products reaching patients in Africa. By monitoring indicators like product volumes, pricing trends, and historic patterns of drug consumption, we can forecast demand and flag outliers that may indicate future shortages. For example, a sudden price spike in a raw material like artemisinin, combined with declining volumes, may signal impending supply constraints or upcoming stock-outs. This gives manufacturers, procurers, and distributors early warnings they can use to adjust procurement and pricing strategies, helping maintain a stable, reliable supply of medicines.

HOW TO GET ACCESS

Maisha ACT is free for non-profit organizations, with paid subscriptions available for commercial users

Register Your Organization

If applicable, provide documentation proving non-profit status and/or consultancy contract with NGO client

Sign Data Usage Agreement

Complete and sign our comprehensive Data Usage Agreement that outlines permitted uses and restrictions

Receive
Login

Once verified, we'll set up your login credentials for our dashboards, which are hosted on Google Looker

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What makes Maisha ACT unique?

Maisha ACT brings together public and private-sector data to provide the first-ever complete picture of how malaria medicines are used across Africa. By filling this long-standing gap, it helps global health organizations to make faster, evidence-based decisions.

Who can access Maisha ACT?

The platform is freely available to non-profit users, while commercial partners can obtain a paid license to access these data and insights.

Can I publish data or insights from Maisha ACT?

Our datasets contain sensitive commercial information, including data licensed from third parties and pharmacy networks. To protect our partners from legal and competitive risks, we maintain strict data governance procedures. All publications must be reviewed and approved to ensure compliance with the spirit of our data licensing agreements.

How do I request permission to publish findings?

To request permission to publish findings, please contact us at datainsights@maishameds.org.

Can I share findings with partners that have a signed Data Use Agreement?

Yes, you may share analyses or findings with partners who have a signed DUA. Please check back soon for a link that will allow you to check which organizations currently have access to Maisha ACT. In the meantime, you may email us via the “Contact Us” button below.

How do you ensure data quality and accuracy?

Our team of data engineers, scientists, and analysts uses rigorous cleaning and transformation methods to convert unstructured information into reliable, structured datasets. We validate key outputs, such as volumes, prices, destination countries, and importers, through internal quality checks and triangulation with external sources. We are confident that this database represents the best current estimation of malaria commodity consumption in the world today.

Nonetheless, users should be aware that certain data limitations still exist – we account for the components of the market that we know we are currently missing (US Government, Chinese private sector exports, local manufacturing), but there also remains the possibility of unknowns that have not been accounted for.

In the future, the aim is to introduce confidence intervals so that users will be able to determine how probable a total market sizing or price is. This has not yet been implemented and will likely happen in H2 2026.

For more details on data caveats, please click on the “Info” button on each dashboard in the “Our Dashboards” section. If you find any information that appears to be incorrect, incomplete, or outdated, please share your feedback or suggestions with us (at datainsights@maishameds.org).

How often are the dashboards updated?

The dashboards are updated monthly. However, there may be slight delays from some data sources—for example, the Global Fund’s public PQR records update more slowly and may be incomplete for more recent time periods.

PARTNERS

FUNDING SUPPORT FROM

ABOUT MAISHA MEDS

Maisha Meds is a technology and data platform transforming how healthcare is delivered and financed across Africa’s private sector.

We equip pharmacies and clinics with point-of-sale business software that also integrates health programs in malaria, HIV, vision, and more. Every transaction generates real-time, geotagged data—providing one of the few live windows into patient care, medicine access, and market trends from the private sector. Our dedicated data team turns this information into actionable insights, dashboards, and policy-shaping reports that inform smarter decisions for governments, funders, and global health partners.

Learn more about our data offerings →