Access to medicines

Access to medicines is a collective responsibility that calls for collective action by public and private actors alike. Our members are involved in over 300 health partnerships in low and middle income countries, with thousands of field operations. Many of these programs facilitate access to medicines and vaccines through preferential pricing, licensing, or donations. They also strengthen health systems by addressing issues of infrastructure, capacity building, and awareness raising.

While the majority of essential medicines are no longer protected by patents, availability of these products in many developing countries is often difficult and complex. Why so? Simply because there are different roadblocks along the delivery route that may include the distribution system itself within a community or country, the quality of the healthcare system available, its general infrastructure, access to insurance, and government policies on import tariffs and taxes.

We believe that any sustainable approach to addressing access to medicines must take into account not only the short-term goal of improving access to existing medicines, but also the equally critical goal of fostering innovation to meet the evolving needs of patients globally. Sound intellectual property rights are needed to stimulate innovation, transfer of technology, capacity building, and economic development. These incentives help bring new medicines into existence and encourage their diffusion and timely availability to the patients that need them.