Access to affordable essential medicines

Essential medicines are a crucial ingredient for fighting disease; thus, having access to them on affordable terms, though an insufficient requirement in itself, is essential for achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and attending to other health needs of developing countries. The analysis in this chapter stresses the critical importance of providing access to essential medicines for both chronic and communicable diseases. Medicines must be accessible to the population in acceptable quantities, dosages and quality, and at affordable prices. Unfortunately, this is not the case in most developing countries, and only modest progress has been made in this regard over the past decade.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Partnerships for the Goals