Madrid, 16 sep (EFE).-one third of the world’s population, more than 2,000 million people, has no access to essential medicines affordable for them and with quality guaranteed.
All this despite the fact that, according to the World Health Organization (who), 325 essential drugs can treat ninety percent of the disease.
In addition, most of these drugs (almost 95 per cent) are not protected by patents and they can be manufactured as generic, what considerably cheaper cost.
Thus reflected in the report “Knowledge, positioning and participation on access to medicines at the international level”, carried out by the NGO Farmamundi and presented today by the President of the Organization, José Luis Daroqui.
The objective of the report, he explained, is raising awareness among all sectors and society on the violation of the universal right to health and to make proposals for strategic actions to improve access of the poor to essential medicines.
According to this report, more than 50 per cent of medicines throughout the world are prescribed, dispense and improperly sold and more than half of patients does not consume them correctly.
The report also reveals that only ten percent of the global r & d investment is directed to cure “forgotten diseases”, which affect 90 percent of the world’s population (Chagas disease, sleeping sickness, malaria or tuberculosis, among others).
As regards the quality of medicines, Farmamundi complaint, according to who, while countries such as the percentage of only counterfeit medicines Spain representing one per cent, the lack of control mechanisms does that in impoverished countries this proportion ronde the 50 per cent.
In addition, according to this non-governmental organization, only with better access to medicines in the worst coverage (especially rural) areas, more than 10 million annual deaths could be prevented through 2015.
Among the conclusions of the study of Farmamundi, stresses the need to consider the access to essential medicines as a right in all the world.
In addition, the NGO recommends to increase the involvement and coordination between all stakeholders from Governments, the NGO, pharmacists and the own society.
Image of José Luis Daroqui, President of Farmamundi file. EFE/file
