E-DRUG: USD29.9m from Bill&Melinda Gates for drug/vaccine supply programmes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[essential drug support from Microsoft! WB]
Management Sciences for Health Receives $29.9 Million Grant from the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Grant to Help Countries Develop Drug and Vaccine Supply Programs to
Be Used Globally
September 5, 2000
BOSTON - Management Sciences for Health (MSH) will use a $29.9
million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve the
drug supply systems of developing countries and create new
public-private models that will promote sustainable, equitable access
to priority drugs and vaccines throughout the world.
"Worldwide, millions of adults and children die each year from
diseases that could have been treated or prevented if effective and
affordable drugs and vaccines had been available and used properly,"
said Dr. Ron O'Connor, CEO of MSH. "We are grateful to the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation for giving us this opportunity to demonstrate
that local-level, public/private collaboration can significantly
increase access and equity."
In the past 50 years, pharmaceutical products and vaccines have
revolutionized health care. Yet, because of budget constraints and
poor infrastructure, hundreds of millions of people in developing
countries do not have access to even basic essential drugs and
vaccines.
Over the next five years MSH will work to develop and test models of
public- and private-sector collaboration to improve access in
developing countries. Each country program will transfer "cutting
edge" technology, such as Internet-based drug management tools,
adapted to local constraints. MSH also will provide technical support
to global initiatives supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
that are developing new drugs and vaccines for priority diseases, such
as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
Dr. Gordon Perkin, Director of the Global Health Program at the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation, said, "MSH is recognized as both a leader
in global drug management initiatives and as a preeminent provider of
technical assistance in drug management. We are confident that this
new program will produce practical, replicable, and equitable models
for improving access to drugs and vaccines."
Recent international attention has focused on improving access to
newer products to prevent or treat priority diseases in developing
countries and on reducing the relatively high prices of these drugs,
particularly for treating AIDS and other infectious diseases. However,
new products and lower prices will do little good if the drugs and
vaccines are not available where needed and if they are not properly
used.
"In most developing countries, governments have traditionally tried
to support public programs to provide drugs and vaccines free of
charge to their people. These programs have failed to serve the public
well," said Jim Rankin, Director of the MSH Drug Management Program.
"In the poorest countries, failure is compounded by the lack of funds
to purchase necessary drugs. But in virtually all cases, the real
problem is the lack of effective drug management systems, leading to
wasted resources and reduced access to drugs."
This funding will test and evaluate innovative models in several
developing countries. The successful models will then be replicated
elsewhere in the developing world. MSH will coordinate its work on
this project with the U.S. Agency for International Development, the
World Bank, the World Health Organization, and other donors and
international agencies.
"Experience has shown that neither government nor private sector
systems working alone can make essential drugs and vaccines accessible
to under-served areas of the world," said Rankin. "In most
industrialized countries, the government regulates and monitors the
quality of products and services, but relies on collaboration with the
private sector to actually provide the services. This grant allows MSH
to help developing countries identify appropriate models of
public/private collaboration and adapt them to fit their local
needs."