"Even if the cost of treatment could be radically reduced, it would remain impractical in much of the developing world. Anti-HIV drugs need to be administered with a precision that rudimentary health infrastructures cannot aspire to."
(Washington Post editorial, 1/6/2000)
 To attack debilitating or fatal diseases in the developing world requires much more than the right medication. Roads, sanitation, rudimentary health education and awareness, sufficient budget resources and effective public health policies all are needed if health services are to be accessible, sustainable and effective.
To meet and overcome the complexity and enormity of these inter-related challenges calls for a new level of participation and cooperation from the entire world community. Governments, official international organizations and non-profits all must become more engaged - and all must work together if disease is to be treated and, better yet, prevented.
The "problem" of poor health and illness in the developing world really is many serious, related problems.
The medical issues facing the populations in the poorest countries include well-known scourges like HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB, as well as lower-profile diseases such as schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, and dengue fever.
But more fundamentally, many countries lack the physical infrastructure and effective public health systems and educational and social programs needed to provide adequate public health services.
- Lack of passable roads and transportation networks mean patients cannot reach health facilities to seek treatment.
- Lack of clean water and sewage treatment, and overcrowding housing, mean that populations are exposed to a broad range of diseases and illnesses that are prevented in developing countries.
- Concentration of health facilities in urban areas means rural populations have nowhere to seek care.
- Social stigmas attached to some health problems, resulting from ignorance and lack of information, mean that many will not turn to the public health system, thus jeopardizing their own health and that of others.
Governments often fail to make health care a spending priority. And those resources devoted to health care are sometimes lost due to corruption, pilferage, waste and poor spending choices.
To adequately address health care problems, we must recognize and respond to these broader challenges. The pharmaceutical companies want to help. We have collaborated in solving health problems in the past, and we remain committed to playing that role. (see: Global Partnerships).
Pharmaceutical companies donate badly needed medicines, sponsor and support public health initiatives and help raise awareness of the magnitude and complexity of public health issues in developing societies.
But the pharmaceutical industry can't do it alone. The problems are too pervasive. Like emergency relief after a natural disaster, the supply and distribution of medicine requires structure and a system - not chaotic conditions - to improve public health.
It will take aggressive, coordinated action by the entire world community to start to make a difference. We, in the pharmaceutical industry, are ready to do our part.
Specific Challenges:
Drug Resistance -
Health Systems and Infrastructure -
Social and Political Issues
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