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Recorded presentation

Mei-Ling Wang, PHD, MPH, Center of Global Health and Development, USP, 600 South 43rd Street, Philadelphia, PA PA19104, 2679717272, m.wang@usip.edu

Background: Pharmaceutical barriers to life-saving medicines, especially for HIV, Malaria, TB, are a major contributing factor to global health disparities. The World Trade Organization, the driving force of global trade liberalization, still embodies impediments to equitable pharmaceutical access in treating prevalent and emergent diseases, despite the effort of DOHA Declaration and August 30th decision in 2003. Other trade frameworks, such as Free Trade of American and North American Free Trade Agreement, further aggravate pharmaceutical access. The goal of this study is to report the results from a global survey of pharmaceutical access models in improving access to HIV, malaria and TB medicines. The main objective is to generate an action framework to improve global pharmaceutical access for emergent diseases. Method: This study applies a case study and a meta policy analysis in examining global pharmaceutical access for HIV, malaria and TB. We examine: 1 existing pharmaceutical barriers in global trade regulatory and technical frameworks in intellectual property rights, pharmaceutical pricing, technology transfer, and indigenous capacity building. 2. How countries use domestic policy and legal instruments, trade mechanisms, and coalition building to improve pharmaceutical access. Results: Lack of pharmaceutical access is a major factor in increasing global health disparities in prevalent and emergent diseases. Synergizing the strengths of various models, such as those of Canada, Brazil and India, provides a multi-level approach for resource-poor countries to improve pharmaceutical access for HIV, malaria and TB. 1. Capacity building in legal, regulatory, and pharmaceutical management among multiple stakeholders is the first step in improving pharmaceutical access. 2. Effective use of global trade mechanisms, such as in compulsory licensing, parallel imports, and technology transfer, by governments facilitates transnational pharmaceutical access. 3. Increasing collective bargaining leverage through coalition building within G20, G80, or BRICs helps generate alternative approaches to addressing pharmaceutical patents, pricing, financing and technology transfer. Conclusion: A global survey using a case study and meta-policy analysis of various pharmaceutical access models shows that using domestic legal and policy instruments, global trade mechanisms, and collective leveraging and human rights advocacy in global trade negotiations are effective tools to improve global pharmaceutical access for HIV, malaria and TB.

Learning Objectives:

• to lay out existing barriers to global pharmaceutical access, especially for emergent diseases in the global trade framework.
• to analyze the impactof these barriers on global health.
• to present solutions from a multi-sector framework.
• to frame these solutions in capacity building framework.

Keywords: Access, Policy/Policy Development

Related Web page: www.usip.edu/socialsciences/wang/index.htm

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation