Improving equity of access to medicines.

• Author: Noehrenberg, Eric
• Position: Pharmaceuticals

The issue of access to medicines by developing countries around the world is one of great significance. Good health is vital for the economic development of nations, and promoting the health of their citizens is one of the most important duties of Governments. As the use of pharmaceutical products can be very effective and a practical means of promoting health, it is not surprising that access to medicines is a hotly debated and politically charged topic. It is therefore important to understand the real factors that affect such access and consider how best to facilitate it for the benefit of populations worldwide. In particular, the question of access to quality medicines for resource-poor countries is especially important as they are most affected by major diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, which particularly affect developing countries. An effective response to the special needs of these countries requires broad-based partnerships of actors from all sectors.

The global research-based pharmaceutical industry, which the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA) represents, fully supports efforts to improve real access to essential drugs for developing countries, especially the poorest. In fact, this industry has contributed circa $2 billion in products since 1998 to healthcare efforts in developing countries, which is significantly more than the contributions of several industrialized countries. Indeed, company access initiatives and partnerships have saved the lives and health of literally tens of millions of people around the world.

For example, Merck's MECTIZAN(R) programme has saved over 30 million people from river blindness since 1987. Aventis Pasteur's donations of 50 million doses of polio vaccine have been key to the global effort to eliminate polio in the world--a goal which is now within reach--thanks to partners such as Rotary International, the World Health Organization (WHO) and others. In the fight against the global AIDS pandemic, the Accelerating Access Initiative (AAI) for AIDS drugs has significantly increased the number of patients receiving antiretroviral treatment in Africa--the continent hardest hit by the pandemic. AAI has been a pioneering effort to harness the resources and expertise of the public and private sectors to effectively respond to the broad challenges of AIDS. It is a joint initiative of six pharmaceutical companies--Abbott Laboratories...