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

WHO MEDICINES STRATEGY 2004-2007 | 62HaitiCubaDominican RepublicEl SalvadorNicaraguaCosta RicaHondurasPanamaEcuadorPeruChileArgentinaROUND 1 & 2ROUND 2ROUND 1EstoniaBulgariaRomaniaGeorgiaSerbiaCroatiaMoroccoSenegalMauritaniaMaliGuineaSierra LeoneBurkina FasoTogoCôte d’IvoireLiberiaRwandaZambiaDR CongoCentral African RepublicGhanaNamibiaBeninNigeriaBotswanaSouth AfricaUkraineMoldovaArmeniaEgyptJordanTajikistanIranYemenEritreaEthiopiaSomaliaSudanKenyaComorosMozambiqueUgandaChadBurundiSwazilandMadagascarTanzaniaMalawiLesothoZimbabweKazakhstanMongoliaKyrgyzstanNorth KoreaChinaAfghanistanPakistanNepalLaosMyanmarPhillippinesIndonesiaEast TimorVietnamCambodiaThailandBangladeshIndiaSri LankaWestern Pacific Islands**Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji,Kirbati, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga,Tuvalu, VauautuEO 3.3Development assistance increasedfor access to medicines, includingthe Global FundRationaleThere is increased global political will andcommitment towards investment in health. Inparticular, there is a growing realization amonghigh-income countries that investing in healthis also an investment in development and inglobal security. In 2001, the Commission onMacroeconomics and Health called for a majorincrease in donor funding for health. A year later,the Global Fund 26 was launched to mobilizeadditional resources to combat HIV/AIDS, TB,and malaria, which together account for about 6million deaths a year. Out of a total of US$ 1.5billion approved by the Global Fund by January2003, 46% has been earmarked for procurementof medicines and commodities for use over thenext two years in over 150 programmes in 93countries.Other major funding sources for these prioritydiseases include the World Bank’s multi-countryHIV/AIDS programme (MAP) 27 and more recentlythe initiative by the President of the UnitedStates, involving US$ 15 billion for HIV/AIDSover five years. The disbursement of such largeamounts of money needs to be accompanied bythe development of quality, sustainable healthservices, including national essential medicinesprogrammes, for which WHO is in a position toprovide the necessary technical assistance.WHO has developed an extensive portfolioof norms, standards, practical guidelines, andother management tools required for effectiveutilization of the above-mentioned funds atnational and global levels. Examples are theWHO prequalification scheme, price and patentinformation, interagency guidelines* on donationsand on review of and support to medicinessupplies agencies. In addition, WHO increasinglysupports Member States in their preparations forapplications to the Global Fund.Challenges remainingImproving access to essential medicines throughthe use of a range of external sources involves avariety of challenges. Of these, the need to ensuresustainability is arguably the most important anddifficult to address. Other challenges include: thegap between current funding levels and health