New Alliance To Improve Access To Medicine In Developing Countries, UK

Main Category: Aid / Disasters
Article Date: 04 Jun 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Secretary of State for International Development (UK), Douglas Alexander, has launched a powerful new health alliance which could save the lives of 10.5 million people in developing countries each year by 2015.

International institutions, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, governments, civil society and business have joined together to form the Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) to improve the health and lives of millions of people. Currently one in three people around the world still don't have access to the basic medicines they need to fight illness and ten million children die each year for want of cheap and effective drugs.

Up to a third of medicines on the market in developing countries are fakes and a recent study published by the American Enterprise Institute found that a third of malaria drugs sold in six African cities either did not contain high enough levels of active ingredient, or did not dissolve properly.

Douglas Alexander said:

"Too many people die needlessly because they can't get the medicines they need. There are currently 2 billion people around the world who do not have access to affordable medical services. A lot of medicines are not affordable, they are of poor quality, or they are simply not available.

"The problems of price, quality and availability can be tackled by improving transparency and access to information. MeTA will provide citizens, health care workers and others with information to challenge corruption, excessive pricing and waste. We now have a common approach and by working together millions of lives could be saved."

In Ghana, the lowest paid government worker - who still earns more than half of their fellow countrymen and women - would have to work for a week simply to afford a course of malaria treatment.

Andreas Seiter, Senior Health Specialist - Pharmaceuticals, The World Bank said:

"MeTA provides an excellent opportunity to broaden the discussion on sound pharmaceutical policies and good governance in the sector. The World Bank is looking forward to contributing to the success of MeTA, keeping in mind the ultimate goal of improving access to effective, safe and affordable medicines".

A number of factors affect the supply of medicine in developing countries. In some cases those running healthcare systems fail to buy sufficient quantities of the right drugs, whether through lack of funding or organisation. When the right drugs are bought, there are problems distributing them to health centres and pharmacies and sometimes criminals and corrupt officials steal medicines or buy counterfeits. The effect is always the same. The poorest are hit hardest.

Dr Carissa Etienne, Assistant Director-General, WHO said:

"Transparency in medicine regulation and pricing is increasingly being recognized as improving the quality of health services"

MeTA will be piloted in Ghana, Uganda, Zambia, The Philippines, Jordan, The Kyrgyz Republic and Peru over a two year period. Following the pilot phase the MeTA model will be revised based on lessons learned to enable other countries to join MeTA and increase access to medicines for poor and vulnerable people.

Notes

- The goal of the Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) is to contribute to increased access to affordable essential medicines in developing countries, in cooperation with pharmaceutical companies. This is in line with Millennium Development Goal 8, Target 17 which states

- Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

- Target 17: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential medicines in developing countries.

3. Leading global players supporting the MeTA Alliance include GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Merck and the Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA)

DFID, the Department for International Development: leading the British government's fight against world poverty.

Department for International Development