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.
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Stop the spin, the backdoor policies and the closed-door negotiations that threaten access to affordable medicines
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Seven years on
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First patent goes into the medicines patent pool drug companies must now follow suit
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Lack of funding undercuts opportunities to overcome global health threats
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In Imey Somali region Ethiopia distance to health care is often overwhelming
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MSF and DNDi call for a more rounded resolution on Chagas disease
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Victory for access to medicines as valganciclovir patent is rejected in India
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Free Trade Agreement: Trading away the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS
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