World Health Organization, WHO calls for better access to medicines to reduce vast treatment gap for neurological disorders
Despite the significant progress made in developing effective, safe, and cost-effective medicines that enhance the quality of life of individuals with neurological disorders, these medicines remain largely inaccessible. A new WHO report, Improving Access to Medicines for Neurological Disorders, sets out the barriers that prevent access to these essential medicines, and presents a framework for action to address these challenges. … Using epilepsy and Parkinson disease as tracer conditions, WHO published a report that sets out the complex and inter linking challenges that prevent access to treatment for neurological disorders, including: poor health financing and the high cost of drugs, leading to high out-of pocket spending costs that increases the risk of financial hardship for individuals living with neurological disorders and their families; insufficient public awareness of neurological disorders, inadequate healthcare infrastructure and lack of healthcare provider training on neurological disorders, combining to create barriers to accessing appropriate care, including diagnosis and treatment; and lack of appropriate selection of essential medicines at the national level and regulatory hurdles also contribute to inaccessibility of essential medicines for the treatment of neurological disorders.
item cross posted with thanks from Megan Whiteman, MWhiteman@citizen.org