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One of the goals of the MDGs is to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with HIV, TB, and Malaria. Yet, a major barrier in treating these diseases is equitable pharmaceutical access. The goal of this study: to analyze the inhibiting factors against pharmaceutical access in treating the MDG-targeted diseases and propose a public health solution. A public health strategy requires an inclusive partnership approach at multiple levels to improve the intellectual property and substandard (CAS) medicines challenges.
Research Design
A meta and content analysis was conducted on global policies, documents and partnerships, such as 1. DOHA Declaration, TRIPS, FTAs, ACTA, Operation Pangea III, IMPACT, ACP, WHA 47.13, and EU’s IPRED2; 2. initiatives by UNAIDS, the International Partnership Against AIDS in Africa, the World Bank/ACTafrica, HIPC, the U.S. Export-Import Bank, PEPFAR; 3. programs by TB alliance, GAVI, PATH, CPT, IAEN, Oxfam, etc. The focus is on policy, structural, and supply and demand chain barriers related to pharmaceutical access to treat HIV, TB, and malaria.
Results: The major barriers in equitable pharmaceutical access in addressing MDG goals are: 1. lacking a harmonized global policy platform to address social determinants of health; 2. lacking sustainable capacity building of the local regulatory bodies, health systems, and production facilities; 3. lacking long-terms solutions to address supply-and-demand barriers related to financing, intellectual property rights, etc.
Conclusion and Lessons Learned
To tackle the barriers in global health equities related to the treating of the MDG-related diseases requires a public health strategy.
1. A top-of-the stream solution is an inclusive partnership and rights-based model to address economic inequity in pharmaceutical access. 2. An upstream strategy requires capacity building of regulation, production, provision, and surveillance for the local stakeholders (i.e. WHO pre-qualification programs). 3. A downstream strategy requires timely generics provisions(e.g., WHO’s coartem program).
Learning Objectives: Learning objectives: 1. describe the public health challenges in global pharmatical access. 2. explicate the supply and demand chain in global pharmatical access. 3. analyze the regulatory barriers contributing to the increase in the trade of the counterfeit and substandard medicines 4. demonstrate the use of public health strategies in improving global pharmatical access.