Medicine & Vaccines Access
Essential medicines and vaccines remain out of reach for many.
In 2019, air pollution caused an estimated 6.7 million deaths worldwide. That same year, access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) could have prevented 1.4 million deaths globally. While air pollution mortality has slightly declined, low-income and vulnerable regions still face the highest risks, especially among children under five.
Insights
Political: Access to medicines is hindered by weak policy frameworks and lack of prioritization in health planning.
Economic: Gaps in pharmaceutical supply chains increase costs in low-resource settings, making it harder for these communities to access essential medicines.
Social: Lack of reliable access to essential medicines leads to preventable illness and death, with the poorest and most rural communities often affected the most.
Technological: Innovation in local manufacturing and digital supply chain monitoring is critical but underutilized in many regions.
Legal: Inadequate regulatory capacity and fragmented procurement processes obstruct the availability and affordability of essential medicines.
Environmental: Fragile global supply chains and climate shocks affect the distribution and shelf-life of critical health products.
Reflective Questions
How might local innovation and production capacity be scaled to improve medicine equity globally?
What systems can ensure essential medicines are sustainably available at the point of care?
How can global financing and procurement frameworks better support regional self-sufficiency in health technologies?
Related Insight Cards
References:
United Nations, 2024. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024. New York: United Nations. Available at: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2024/
World Health Organization, n.d. Proportion of health facilities with a core set of relevant essential medicines available and affordable on a sustainable basis. The global health observatory [online database]. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/proportion-of-health-facilities-with-a-core-set-of-relevant-essential-medicines-available-and-affordable-on-a-sustainable-basis
World Health Organization, 2020. 1.3 Improved access to essential medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and devices for primary health care [website]. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/about/accountability/results/who-results-report-2020-mtr/outcome/2020/1.3-improved-access-to-essential-medicines-vaccines-diagnostics-and-devices-for-primary-health-care-results-report-achievements
