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

WHO MEDICINES STRATEGY 2004-2007 | 58EO 3.1Access to essential medicinesimproved, including medicines forHIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, childhoodillnesses, and noncommunicablediseasesRationaleIn 2001, the Commission on Macroeconomicsand Health 22 demonstrated the close linksbetween health and poverty reduction. The lackof access to essential medicines and other healthinterventions to prevent or treat diseases suchas HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria results in highmortality and morbidity and holds back socialand economic development. In addition, in somecountries, the lack of medicines in health facilitieshas lowered people’s confidence in the healthcare delivery system. As a result, other servicesoffered by the health system, including vitalimmunization programmes, have been adverselyaffected.ProgressThe Stop TB Partnership and the Global DrugFacility have demonstrated that: new resourcescan be mobilized; innovative partnerships, evenat grass-roots level, can be forged for effectivecountry level action; and pooled resources cancreate an effective negotiating tool for pricesetting in non-structured markets. In addition,through joint product development agreements,WHO has been able to achieve differential pricesfor a number of key antimalarial drug products.Standard treatment guidelines for HIV/AIDS andmalaria have been reviewed and updated andreflected in the WHO Model List of EssentialMedicines and Formulary. These guidelines helpcountries to select drug products that are optimalfor their setting, taking into account both theepidemiological situation and drug resistancepatterns. WHO is also contributing to ensuring thequality of new medicines for HIV/AIDS, TB, andmalaria through the prequalification process. Inthis way, national medicine supply systems andregulatory authorities are able to make evidencebaseddecisions about medicines.Price information on selected essential medicinesis provided through a collaborative effortinvolving WHO and partners — allowing nationalprogrammes to compare medicine prices offeredby various sources. This is a valuable tool forensuring competitive pricing in the internationalmedicines market.ChallengesThe high disease burden due to HIV/AIDS,TB, and malaria in many countries is a majorchallenge for governments. Efforts to improveaccess to essential medicines for these threediseases require a substantial increase in bothhuman and financial resources, as well asstrengthened medicines supply systems. Thehigh cost of individual treatment, especially forlifelong treatment for HIV/AIDS, is a major hurdlefor many governments and individuals. Effectivedelivery of many of the medicines for thesediseases requires accurate diagnosis and closemonitoring of the patient’s response to treatment.To achieve this, it is vital that health systemsdevelop and implement the necessary supportinginfrastructure, train health staff, and providethe information needed by patients to ensureoptimal therapy. The development of resistance tocurrently available therapies is a significant threatto treatment. Innovative measures to containthe rate and extent of drug resistance need to beidentified.