Inequitable access to medicines for neglected tropical diseases in Europe

e-drug
1

Dear E-Druggers,

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of the European medicine supply systems, but the lack of access to medicines for diseases of poverty, including neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), is unfrequently brought to the attention of the European policy makers. As a result, clinicians in Europe are forced to “bricolage solutions” to treat NTDs: ad hoc donations from companies, product-specific donations via the WHO or WHO collaborating centres, case-by-case importation -sometimes from poorly regulated countries-, and possibly the recourse to compounding pharmacies. Noteworthy, NTDs are unlikely to decrease in the next years in Europe, due to increasing global mobility, and climate change expanding the parasites’ habitat.
This serious but neglected problem was discussed at the 2025 European Congress in Tropical Medicine and International Health (ECTMIH) in Hamburg, Germany.
In this viewpoint, co-authored by clinicians and researchers from Belgium, Italy, Spain and Germany and based on specific experiences, we discuss the availability, affordability and accessibility challenges in some countries in Europe, and their consequences at patient and health system level. We also propose a set of interconnected recommendations and policy measures to make quality-assured medicines for NTDs sustainably available and affordable across Europe.
Restoring access to these essential and sometimes life-saving medicines is critical for restoring the right to health for all in Europe, while protecting continental public health.

You can read the open access Viewpoint at this link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666776226000281?via%3Dihub

Very best ,

2

Thank you, Raffaella, for sharing this important and timely article. It clearly highlights the structural vulnerabilities within European health systems that continue to undermine equitable access to essential medicines for NTDs.

I find the second recommendation particularly compelling. By linking demand data with regulatory innovation, coordinated procurement and full reimbursement, it shifts the conversation from ad hoc “bricolage” solutions to sustainable system reform. Embedding NTD medicine access within Europe’s solidarity-based health systems and framing it within broader public health and climate resilience priorities is both pragmatic and overdue. This is a critical call for coordinated European action!