Assessment of the availability of snakebite antivenom in health facilities in Ndola District, Zambia: a cross-sectional study

Background Despite snakebite antivenom being included on the WHO list of essential medicines, many parts of the world, especially Africa, lack effective and safe antivenoms. Methods A descriptive, field-based, cross-sectional study was undertaken from August to November 2020 in 40 out of 71 health facilities in Ndola district. Interviews and physical inspection were conducted at each facility. Results The study revealed that only three (8%) of all the private health facilities had antivenom available at the time of the assessment. Factors significantly associated with antivenom supply included lack of central country supply (90%), lack of demand of the antivenom (55%) and no budget allocation for the antivenom (95%). Conclusions Despite the high number of notified snakebites within Ndola district, there remains poor availability of snakebite antivenom within the district.