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.