who medicines strategy - libdoc.who.int - World Health Organization

HIGHLIGHTS | 3OUR VISIONOur vision is that people everywhere haveaccess to the essential medicines they need; thatthe medicines are safe, effective, and of goodquality; and that the medicines are prescribedand used rationally.EXPANDING ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL MEDICINESScaling up access to essential medicines —especially for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), andmalaria — is critical to global efforts by WHO toprevent millions of deaths a year, reduce suffering,and help reduce the economic burden of illnesson the poorest families.WHO estimates that over 10.5 million lives ayear could be saved by 2015 — also boostingeconomic growth and social development — byexpanding access to existing interventions forinfectious diseases, maternal and child health,and noncommunicable diseases.Most of these interventions depend on essentialmedicines. Yet today, almost 2 billion people —one-third of the global population — do not haveregular access to essential medicines. In some ofthe lowest-income countries in Africa and Asia,more than half of the population have no regularaccess to essential medicines.In developing countries, where an estimated40 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS,life-saving antiretroviral medicines (ARVs) areavailable to only 300 000 of the 5-6 millionpeople currently in need of treatment — a crisisthat WHO has declared to be a global healthemergency.Average per capita spending on pharmaceuticalsin high-income countries is 100 times higherthan in low-income countries — about US$ 400compared with US$ 4. WHO estimates that 15%of the world’s population consumes over 90% ofthe world’s production of pharmaceuticals (byvalue).Access to health care is a fundamental humanright, enshrined in international treaties andrecognized by governments throughout the world.However, without equitable access to essentialmedicines for priority diseases the fundamentalright to health cannot be fulfilled. Access toessential medicines is also one of the UN’sMillennium Development Goals (MDGs).Note:Numbered references (sources) are listed at the end (pages147-149). References indicated by a letter in the text areexplained in Endnotes (page 150).