Ivory Coast has enshrined the right to health in its constitution with a view to establishing health equity. However, it is struggling to ensure that people in rural areas have access to quality essential medicines. The aim of this study is to identify and analyse the factors hindering access to essential medicines in the sub-prefecture of Tioroniaradougou in northern Côte d'Ivoire. The methodology was based on a literature review and a field survey of 321 heads of household selected on the basis of stratified random sampling. The combined analysis of the data obtained and refined using chi2 and Cramer's V tests revealed that the factors hindering access to essential medicines were the absence of health centres in the villages (chi2 C (64.97) > chi2 tab (3.84) ; Cramer's V = 0.5), the recurrent unavailability and/or shortage of medicines (chi2 C (82.24) > chi2 tab (3.84); Cramer's V = 0.5) and the high prices of these medicines (chi2 C (68.38) > chi2 tab (3.84); Cramer's V = 0.5) when they are available. As a result, people are turning to alternative treatments and medicines such as medicinal plants, essential street medicines or counterfeit medicines, and to prayer