Euro debate on health care access in DCs

24 May 2001

Access to health care in developing countries, and how to develop theright responses to the health care crisis, was the subject of an event organized last month by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, in which around 30 officials of the European Union institutions (Commission, Parliament and member states) took part.

Setting out their views on the international effort and concerted actions required to effectively address the dramatic health care crisis in the developing world, top academics jointly stressed the vital necessity to support the development of systems at the community level, in order to make any health assistance strategy effective in these regions, notes the EFPIA.

Numerous obstacles preventing better access to health care in the developing world were presented by Jean-Pierre Unger of the Department of Public Health at the Institute of Tropical Medicines in Antwerp, Belgium. These ranged from a lack of health professionals and health facilities, underfinancing, infrastructure, bureaucracy and lack of will. "Funding is, of course, an important issue," said Prof Unger, "but we need first to set in place an effective irrigation system allowing poor countries to absorb international health assistance." He insisted that "local health service development is an absolute prerequisite."

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free.  A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Login to your account

Become a subscriber

 

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now
  • Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
  • Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
  • Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
  • Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
  • Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK





Today's issue

Company Spotlight