Access to Essential Medicines
Background:
Access to medicines that people need should be universally equitable and sustainable. The medicines should be safe, effective and of good quality. They should be prescribed by relevant authority and used rationally.
The majority of low and middle-income countries now use essential medicines lists in selecting their medicines. This may be further developed with the introduction of generic competition, which helps to maintain low prices. Schemes such as bulk purchasing, careful price comparison, compulsory licensing and differential pricing schemes, may all help countries obtain better purchasing prices for medicines, and also ensure sustainability of long-term pharmaco-healthcare provision.
Activities for Asia-Pacific (2007-2010) consist of 2 parts:
1.1 Medicine prices should never be an impediment to access -
- Monitor the impact of national and international policy on medicine prices and press for access to be the driving principle of the implementation of these policies.
- Research and lobby for fair financing for medicines.
Ongoing Projects:
Medicines Price Control
Healthcare Financing
1.2 Research and Development (R&D) re-oriented and rewarded according to public needs -
- Monitor changes in legislation on intellectual property and their effects.
- Assist goverments to enact public health-sensitive patent legislation in national laws by including provisions for compulsory licensing and parallel importing.
Ongoing Projects:
Free Trade Agreements & Intellectual Property Rights
Related News:
‘The Role of Indian Generic Manufacturers in Supplying Antiretroviral Medicines to Developing Countries’
Short abstract by Waning, B et al (in HAI News 154):
