Need the medicines!
No access? Take action!
Eva M A Ombaka
Member, Health Action International
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Medicines are essential part of
life
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Cannot leave health/medicines needs (esp.
developing countries and the poor) to profit seeking industry.
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Put public health before profit
Say no to a system that is not working!
Increasing access to medicines
Six C's are needed (Devi Sridhar):
 Coalitions,
 Civil society,
 Citizenship,
 Compromise,
 Communication and
 Collaboration.
Increasing access to medicines
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First: developing countries must form a
coalition that comes together to achieve a very
specific objective and does not fragment.
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Unequal power between drug companies and many
developing countries
E.g. NEPAD; Doha, Regional communities
Increasing access to medicines
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Second: CSOs committed to health
issues must continue to push the issue
onto the political agenda. E.g.
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CSOs playing a role in research-provide data
Activists can campaign e.g. loud support for
the implementation of the TRIPS safeguards
Undertake advocacy work with policy makers
and funders
Be part of agenda setting
Increasing access to medicines
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Third: citizens in developed countries
need to pressure their governments to
prioritize health concerns through
lobbying, protesting and supporting CSOs
e.g.
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Health Gap
Act Up Paris
Increasing access to medicines
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Fourth: the various stakeholders must
compromise to a certain extent so that
progress can be made e.g.
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HAI/WHO pricing study
MeTA
IGWIG
Increasing access to medicines
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Fifth: health activists must
communicate to the media, so that the
media can frame the issue of access to
essential medicines in an appealing
manner.
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Collect information at grassroots
Document, document, document!!
Publish research findings
Increasing access to medicines
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Sixth: developing countries, CSOs and
citizens in developed and developing
countries must collaborate to ensure
that the barriers to access to essential
medicines are overcome.
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Kenya coalition on access to medicines
TAC in South Africa
Increasing access to medicinesindividual actions
Be a resource!
 Skills
 Profession
 Time
 Financial
 In-kind
Increasing access to medicinesindividual actions
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Use medicines carefully, rationally-it’s a
precious resource
Be informed-local situation, international
situation
Have a moral compass-not lose your
independence individually or in groups
Support alternative sources and life styles
Pharmacy?
. . .
Grocery store? Trained?
Expired?
Rational?
Increasing access to medicinesindividual actions
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Join others e.g.
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Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO)
Community-Based Organizations (CBO)
Faith-based organizations e.g. YM/W/CA,
Ramakrishna Mission etc
Voluntary (patient) health organizations
Networks/Movements e.g. PHM; HAI – in
Africa, Asia/Pacific, Latin America, Europe;
EPN; ReAct; etc etc
Get involved.....Thank you!