E-drug: Business and AIDS in Africa
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Hello,
There is an article in the 11th to 17th October 2003 edition of The
Economist. The article is entitled "Business and AIDS in Africa:
Follow my lead". In summary it describes the way Anglo American, a
mining company with plants in South Africa, has said it will help pay
for the rehabilitation of 900 South African public clinics where HIV
testing and treatment for AIDS and tuberculosis are carried out. The
company had previously announced in August last year that it would
give antiretroviral drugs to HIV infected employees. The article goes
on to encourage governments to begin to show such foresight.
It is obvious that in recent times to fund healthcare has become very
expensive and governments, companies and public institutions with
financial clout are the ones who will survive in the healthcare market
in terms of provision of adequate health care for their citizens and
employees.
Third world governments are seriously disadvantaged as far as
wielding any financial muscle is concerned. This is obviously a big
handicap in the plans of these governments no matter how forward
looking in terms of providing healthcare they may be. Insufficient
financial AID has become a norm, the World Trade Organisation
(WTO) has also done its bit with regard to patents, generic
manufacturing and drug pricing for the third world. If we are to focus
on global equity issues in terms of public health with special attention
to HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, the pharmaceutical companies
involved in the manufacture of drugs and vaccines for these diseases
could take a que from companies like Anglo American in South Africa
and follow suit.
The multinational pharmaceutical companies have employees in the
third world. They could take the opportunity to establish public health
and maternity clinics for example in these countries. In marketing and
economic terms my thinking and my view is that both the
countries and the multinationals will benefit.
1) The developing world would serve as a good place to market the
drugs of these companies (this is not to suggest they need marketing
but the patients will get to know more about the medications available
first hand from healthcare professionals) This is important considering
the fact that patients are important stakeholders in healthcare;
business.
2) There will be information transmitted more readily to the drug
companies about the trends of disease patterns, epidemiology and
dermographics of the affected countries;
3) In terms of research and development patients can be successfully
and more appropriately recruited for clinical trials for medicines for
treatment of diseases of a more tropical origin.
In the field of healthcare there certainly can be no losers if the
principles and concepts of health policy and economics are
appropriately applied to each setting and situation.
Thanks
Alfred Sackeyfio, MRPharmS PG Dip Health Economics
Hospital and Retail Pharmacist
(Special interests: Pharmacoeconomics)
United Kingdom
Tel 0044 161 225 7182
Mobile 0044 7713 250 929
Email: awnsack@aol.com
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