RESEARCH ARTICLE
Achieving a Dream: Meeting Policy Goals Related to Improving Drug Access
David Zakus*, 1, 2, 3, Jillian Clare Kohler4, Venera Zakriova1, 2, Aaron Yarmoshuk2, 5
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2010Volume: 4
First Page: 25
Last Page: 27
Publisher ID: TOAIDJ-4-25
DOI: 10.2174/1874613601004020004
Article History:
Received Date: 15/6/2009Revision Received Date: 16/6/2009
Acceptance Date: 1/7/2009
Electronic publication date: 19/1/2010
Collection year: 2010
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
International experts recognize that significant inequities exist in the accessibility of life-saving medicines among poor and vulnerable populations, especially in developing countries. This article highlights that drug access even for relatively cheap medicines is out of reach for the vast numbers of global poor. This badly affects people living with HIV/AIDS who face serious obstacles in accessing ARVs. The same concerns are attributed to neglected diseases. Despite international meetings, promises from the pharmaceutical industry and a lot of media attention little has changed in the past 20 years. The accessibility gap to life-saving drugs could be reduced by the UNITAID initiative to pool patents for the many different ARVs, but the reality is that UNITAID is still a promise. To surmount this global problem of inequity requires a rethinking of traditional models of drug access and health objectives that should not be compromised by commercial interests.
