[afro-nets] Can the poor buy life-saving drugs?

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Can the poor buy life-saving drugs?
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Deccan Herald » Edit Page » Detailed Story, 11th April 2006
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr112006/editpage1620212006410.asp


IN PERSPECTIVE

Can the poor buy life-saving drugs?
By Gopal Dabade

Though India is a major drug manufacturer many people lack ac-
cess to drugs

Medicines are the most significant tool that societies possess
to prevent, alleviate and cure diseases. People who need them
most are often deprived of it. Only the poor who fall sick fre-
quently need health care regularly. But unfortunately a vast
number of people have either inadequate or no access to medi-
cines.

It is estimated that geographically Africa and India constitute
a massive population without medicines. About 65 per cent of the
Indian population and 47 per cent of the African population lack
access to essential life saving medicines, where as in Europe
that share is 14 per cent and in the US the figure is 22 per
cent. India is recognised as a global drug manufacturer, which
exports to many countries even developing ones, but the stark
number of people without essential drugs is the highest in the
world! All this in spite of the fact that today the world pos-
sesses adequate resources to fund essential medicines and a
functioning health system in developing countries. The basic
knowledge and technical information already exists to increase
access to all segments of population.

Population factor

What comprises access to medicines? It is defined as the propor-
tion of population with access to affordable essential drugs on
a sustainable basis and is the percentage of population that has
access to a minimum of 20 of the most essential drugs. It means
that if a child has fever then simple medicines to reduce it
should be available. The UNDP report explains how even such a
simple access to life saving medicine is still a distant dream
for several millions the world over. Clearly this excludes the
higher antibiotics and five star hospitals.

Global pictures of people without access to medicines are scar-
ier. Reportedly 38 per cent of the Indian population and 15 per
cent of the African population lack access to essential medi-
cines. So totally, India and Africa contribute to 53 per cent of
the world's population without access to essential medicines.
All this and much more in a United Nations report "Prescription
for healthy development: increasing access to medicine" is
available at the URL
http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/AccessMedEbook.pdf

Prescription for Healthy Development: Increasing Access to Medi-
cines is a publication of the United Nations Development Pro-
gramme (UNDP) on behalf of UN Millennium Project 2005 - a report
of the Task Force on HIV/AIDS, Malaria, TB and Access to Essen-
tial Medicines, Working Group on Access to Essential Medicines.

Inadequate access

It is estimated that 1.7 million to 2 billion people interna-
tionally have no access to or have inadequate access to life-
saving essential drugs. Most of them live in developing coun-
tries. More than 10 million children die annually, unnecessarily
almost all in developing, middle-income or poor areas of middle-
income countries, mostly from a short list of preventable dis-
eases like acute respiratory diseases, diarrhea, malaria, mea-
sles, and causes related to malnutrition.

The UNDP report has some important recommendations. Many of them
are relevant to India. It highlights that a country needs the
political will. There must be a progressive increase in the
budgetary allocation for essential drugs, especially to ensure
improved access to the poor, which is likely to require a shift
in the allocation of government resources. Budgetary allocation
should be made on accurate data. This merits serious attention,
as most data/figures are manipulated to get funds from donor
agencies. Also the report acknowledges that drug prices play a
major role. This is an area that needs urgent attention. If the
price is set at a level that consumer cannot afford, the medi-
cine will not be bought. In developing countries, governments
have a range of tools available to help manage and lower medi-
cine prices.

One wonders if the people in power are listening. It is ulti-
mately for the consumer groups to bring pressure on the govern-
ment and make medicines available to the poorest. Till then the
poor will continue to suffer and die.