Extensive initiative to improve child healthcare

GSK's partnership with Save the Children effectively engages in child treatment, vaccination and health worker support in 31 countries.

Ifra Mahamud, 25, is a health worker carrying out vaccinations in Degehabur District in the Somali Region, Ethiopia. She’s a government employee who has been trained by Save the Children. Copyright: Hannah Adcock, Save the Children

Company

GSK

Location

Globally

Focus

Maternal and child health

Action

Developing medicines, training healthcare workers and increasing vaccination

Aim

To prevent one million preventable child deaths

In 2013, GSK partnered with Save the Children in a long-term strategic initiative to pave the way for access to medicine and help save the lives of a million children under the age of five. Their initial collaboration was extended in 2018 to continue until the end of 2023. The partnership continues to strive to make long-term impact and create sustainable solutions.

Overall, the partnership focuses on maternal and child health and addresses such issues as inequity, malnutrition, disease and empowerment. It oversees a wide range of projects in liaison with the national health ministries and GSK contributes by donating child-friendly medicines and vaccines, among other activities. The partnership also seeks to strengthen health systems by, for example, investing in training for healthcare workers, improving vaccination coverage in hard-to-reach areas and working with local partners to strengthen the supply chain.

Outcomes and impact

Between 2013 and 2019, the partnership reached nearly three million children under the age of five. It has treated 282,921 cases of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea, fully vaccinated 118,057 children and supported more than 15,000 community health workers.

The partnership effectively engages in child treatment, vaccination and health worker support.

In 2018, the Index recognised this partnership as a best practice. GSK remains exemplary in meeting all Good Practice Standards – among others, strong governance structure, understanding of local needs, integration and transparency. It also demonstrates scalability having expanded its geographic scope to a total of 31 countries in scope of the Index. Projects include Colombia, Indonesia and Mozambique, a new partnership in Nigeria with University College London and Nigerian university UCH Ibadan and the continued deployment of an outcome and impact assessment framework.

Many of the partnership projects measure their outcomes and impact by partnering with academic institutions and research organisations. In Nigeria, for example, University College London and the Nigerian university UCH Ibadan have facilitated a needs assessment and situational analysis to understand specific local needs and to identify factors that prevent the reduction of pneumonia-led mortality. This research was published in a peer-reviewed journal* and GSK reports a commitment to ensuring the outcomes of the initiative are published.

Topic Analysis - 26 Jan 2021

Which markets do pharmaceutical companies target for registration?

Registration is a key step to introducing a medical product into a country. Registration with national regulatory authorities enables distribution, marketing and, by extension, patient access to life-saving products across the country. In lower-income countries, the registration of newly launched products typically occurs less frequently and usually later than in higher-income ones with larger markets.

* Murphy T. Tackling Pediatric Pneumonia in Nigeria – an Evidence‐based Approach to Programming. Pediatric Pulmonology. 2021;55(S1):S1-S112.

How we measure

The Index evaluates pharmaceutical companies in areas where they have the biggest potential and responsibility to make change, such as R&D and pricing. Find out more about the analytical framework and areas of evaluation.

A new, tighter analytical framework for 2021

The 2021 Access to Medicine Index is based on a new analytical framework of three Technical Areas, and 14 priority themes for corporate activity. Per area, companies’ policies and practices are measured by indicators that correspond to pharmaceutical companies’ core role for improving access to medicine. The new analytical framework for 2020 has a tighter structure, with 33 indicators grouped into three Technical Areas: Governance of Access, Research & Development and Product Delivery.

Analytical Framework for the 2021 Access to Medicine Index — The 2021 Access to Medicine Index analyses company behaviour using a framework of 33 indicators organised in three Technical Areas.

3 core areas of responsibility

A Governance of Access Looking at how companies govern, plan for and manage the achievement of access-linked objectives, while ensuring they apply processes that minimise the risk of non-compliant or corrupt behaviour occurring. It looks at access-to-medicine strategies, including whether they are aligned with corporate strategies, and how progress towards access to medicine objectives is measured and incentivised.

B Research & Development Looking at pharmaceutical companies R&D activities to develop or adapt products for the diseases,conditions and pathogens within the Index scope, and in response to the needs of people living in low- and middle-income countries. It also examines whether companies put plans in place during development to accelerate access to successful products for people living in low- and middle-income countries.

C Product Delivery Looking at companies’ post-development actions on the ground to ensure they offer equitable access to their products and overcome any local barriers in accessing hard-to-reach markets and patient populations. They can then use three main access strategies: equitable pricing, responsible IP management and product donations. These are considered to have the biggest potential impact on supply and affordability. Actions such as sharing intellectual property and health-system strengthening are also considered here.

Distilling global priorities for access

Each Access to Medicine Index is the product of a two-year process known as the ‘Index cycle’, which begins with a review of the Index methodology. This process aligns the Index metrics with changes in access-to-medicine priorities and stakeholder consensus on what we expect from pharmaceutical companies to improve access to medicine. We also use the review to reaffirm the robustness of the next Index analysis, and ensure our capacity for trend analysis is maintained.

The latest review, held in 2019, led to the methodology for the 2021 Access to Medicine Index.

Extensive initiative to improve child healthcare

Which markets do pharmaceutical companies target for registration?

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How we measure

A new, tighter analytical framework for 2021

3 core areas of responsibility

Distilling global priorities for access

Get in touch

Claudia Martinez