Access to Medicine

One of the most vital and significant aspects of our lives is our health. A vital component of medical care is the use of medicines. Thanks to medicine, our health and quality of life are enhanced. Many people worldwide are unable to access the necessary treatments for their illnesses, despite the fact that we have access to the most up-to-date medical technology and cures. I want to talk about how difficult it is for individuals to get medicine and the obstacles they must overcome in order to obtain it.

To begin with, let us define the question: What is access to medicine? Owing to the ambiguity surrounding the term "access", "access to essential medicines" lacks a single, agreed-upon definition. Access is defined as the capacity to physically and reasonably obtain necessary pharmaceuticals. This condition is primarily observed in low- and middle-income nations. They have difficulty getting the medication, and there are a few reasons why:

• Rising prices for new medicines
• Shortage
• Stockouts of essential medicines 
• The growing problem of substandard and falsified medical products entering the global supply chain

Why do we need new medicines? Treating diseases that were previously incurable is one of the key reasons we need to develop new medications. A new medication comes with a new, higher price. In order to partially cover the costs of their research and development as well as those of all the medications that are never brought to market, new medications have always been more expensive. The management of the supply chain and the pursuit of profit motivations drive up the prices. It seems to be happening daily, which makes it more difficult for patients to obtain the medication.

Medicines are greatly impacted by shortages. Various definitions of medicine shortages exist, contingent upon the definition's intended audience and purpose. For instance, "any inability to supply a specific medicinal product to an individual patient within a defined period" is what patients and health care providers characterise as a shortage. People do have a need for medicine. A scarcity of medicine occurs when national demand is not met by national supply.

The WHO (World Health Organisation) defines a stock-out as when a necessary medication is completely absent from a storage or delivery location for a minimum of one day. Healthcare providers typically devise temporary fixes to avoid this issue, like reducing the refill window, lending medication, or sending patients to different establishments.

Around the world, up to two billion people lack access to essential medications, immunizations, medical equipment, including in vitro diagnostics, and other health supplies. This leaves a void that is all too frequently filled by shoddy and fraudulent goods. The complexity of global supply chains is making this issue worse since goods made in one nation may be packaged in another, transported across borders, and then promoted or sold to customers in a third.

In conclusion, we have a worldwide problem with access to medicine. There are main reasons, like price rises, stockouts, and entering the global supply chain. The World Health Organisation and Doctors Without Borders and Access to Medicine Foundation are the main organisations that are trying to prevent this access problem and find solutions to it.

Bibliography;

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5278914/

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2019.00763/full

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/nov/18/poorer-nations-still-lack-access-to-worlds-key-antibiotics

https://www.who.int/our-work/access-to-medicines-and-health-products

https://joppp.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40545-023-00548-x