The use of medicine retailers by people of Goma as an alternative healthcare provider: a risky but rational practice

Abstract Background: Medicine retailers, considered here as any person or setting dedicated to the sale of retail medicines, fill an important gap in terms of access to healthcare in areas where population are not covered by universal healthcare schemes. In Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, such retailers have proliferated and are consulted as the first port of call by more than half of the population, playing therefore a key role as an alternative source of healthcare for