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Treating multi drug resistant TB and HIV/AIDS in Manipur, India

Access to medicines

Unaffordable, unavailable, not adapted - people around the world face these challenges in accessing lifesaving medicines.

During the 1990s, MSF teams made a bitter observation: we were failing to treat some of our patients suffering from infectious diseases, while in developed countries, remarkable progress was being made in the field of health. Two decades on, medicines in developing countries are still either too expensive, aren't suitable to be used in many of the contexts in which we work (for example, in hot, humid conditions or where there's a lack of electricity), or simply don't exist for the diseases we need to treat.

In 1999, we launched the Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, now known as the Access Campaign. Its mission focuses on three areas: overcoming barriers to access to essential medicines, stimulating research and development for neglected diseases, promoting health exceptions to global trade agreements.

In 2003, MSF joined several research institutes, including the Institut Pasteur, to create the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a non-profit research and development organisation engaged in research and development of new treatments for neglected diseases.

 
Website

MSF Access Campaign

msfaccess.org
 
Access to medicines

MSF alert to the lack of essential medicines and medical supplies in Argentina

Press Release 21 Nov 2002
 
Access to medicines

Access Campaign accomplishments 1999-2002

Project Update 18 Nov 2002
 
Access to medicines

Sydney Summit a step back for access to medicines, but it is not the end of the story

Press Release 15 Nov 2002
 
HIV/AIDS

Equitable access: Scaling up HIV/AIDS treatment in developing countries

Report 15 Nov 2002
 
Access to medicines

Expect progress to be tough at WTO summit on drugs

Project Update 14 Nov 2002
 
United States of America

Drugs for the poor

Project Update 14 Nov 2002
 
Access to medicines

US trade position threatens access to medicines in Latin America and the Caribbean

Press Release 31 Oct 2002
 
Kenya

Kenya Coalition welcomes re-amendment of Industrial Property Act

Press Release 15 Aug 2002
 
Access to medicines

The 90/10 divide

Project Update 1 Aug 2002
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30 August 2019