Nairobi — A new guide on where and at what cost to buy children's medicine has been released jointly by the World Health Organisation and United Nations Children's Fund.

The list that covers over 240 essential medicines formulated for children, is available online for doctors and other organisations, which import medications.

"This one-of-its-kind publication will be useful for organisations and personnel involved in procurement to identify where medicines may be found and what they cost," said Hans Hogerzeil, director essential medicines and pharmaceutical policies at WHO.

Although Kenya has one of the most developed pharmaceutical industries in the region, it misses out on the listing since only two local companies appear in the list dominated by Indian and European manufactures.

The world body says, the list is important because in some cases it is difficult to get suitable medicines for children.

As an alternative to missing paediatric medicines, says WHO, health workers and parents often use fractions of adult dosage forms or prepare makeshift prescriptions of medicines by crushing tablets or dissolving portions of capsules in water, which is "not always safe or effective as the dose will not be accurate."

WHO recommends that medicines for children be provided as flexible, solid, oral dosage forms that can be administered in a liquid when it is given to the sick child.

"Liquid formulations are more expensive compared to dispersible tablets and are also more costly to store, package, and transport safely."

Elsewhere, it emerged that Kenya could drastically cut the number of malaria deaths following the introduction of a new weapon to curb deadly disease.

Scientists at the Kenya Medical Research Institute have launched a computer software that can accurately predict highland malaria outbreaks up to three months in advance.

According to Dr Andrew Kitheko of Kemri, the technology has been tested, validated and found to work in the three East African countries.

With modifications, the tool may be used in predicting cholera and Rift Valley, Fever whose frequency and severity had increased in the last decade.

"With such tools there is no reason for malaria to be a problem in Kenya and the East African region," said Kemri director Solomon Mpoke when the technology was unveiled in Nairobi at a meeting to hand it over to senior government officials.

None of the invited policy makers turned up, however.

Now health authorities can either stop mosquitoes before they mature, before they bite or treat infected people early enough to significantly reduce suffering and loss of lives.

On pinpointing areas of the next outbreak of highland malaria, health agencies can now decide to activate indoor residual spraying, stock up emergency medicines and raise the levels of medical personnel in individual locations.

"Decision makers can use this tool to determine in which areas malaria epidemics are likely to occur and the severity of the epidemic, reducing uncertainties in decision-making," said the lead researcher Dr Kitheko.

The tool could help avoid situations like 1998 to 2002 when various outbreaks of highland malaria killed more than 1,000 people in Kenya's western highlands.

The then head of malaria division, Dr Sam Ochola, said the outbreaks had caught the health authorities unprepared, hence the many deaths.