Access to medicines through health systems in low- and middle-income countries

Community Health Worker Programs to Improve Healthcare Access and Equity: Are They Only Relevant to Low- and Middle-Income Countries?

Background Community Health Workers (CHWs) are proven to be highly effective in low- and middle-income countries with many examples of successful large-scale programs. There is growing interest in deploying CHW programs in high-income countries to address inequity in healthcare access and outcomes amongst population groups facing disadvantage. This study is the first that examines the scope and...

Health policy and systems research in access to medicines: a prioritized agenda for low- and middle-income countries

OBJECTIVES To identify priority policy issues in access to medicines (ATM) relevant for low- and middle-income countries, to identify research questions that would help address these policy issues, and to prioritize these research questions in a health policy and systems research (HPSR) agenda. METHODS The study involved i) country- and regional-level priority-setting exercises performed in 1...

Improving Access to Medicines in Low and Middle Income Countries: Corporate Responsibilities in Context

More than two billion people in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) lack adequate access to essential medicines. In this paper, we make strong public health, human rights and economic arguments for improving access to medicines in LMIC and discuss the different roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders, including national governments, the international community, and non-governmental o...

Does access to medicines differ by gender? Evidence from 15 low and middle income countries.

OBJECTIVE To examine gender differences in access to prescribed medicines in 15 lower and middle income countries. METHODS The proportion of consultations with at least one prescription for women in three age groups (<15, 15-59, 60+ years) with acute respiratory infections (ARI), depression and diabetes in routine audits was compared to the expected proportion calculated from WHO Global Burde...

Health care systems in low- and middle-income countries.