What’s the use of anti-HIV injections when those who need it most can’t use it?

In an article for the Mail & Guardian, Yogan Pillay, Francois Venter and Fatima Hassan examine access to the HIV pre-exposure prohpylaxis (PrEP) drug CAB-LA in Sub-Saharan Africa, drawing on results from the Foundation's 2021 Access to Medicine Index.

Administered bi-monthly, the new PrEP injection CAB-LA is more effective than oral treatments, the authors state.

Yet, the article outlines, the drug is currently unavailable in countries where HIV is most prevalant.

"Even in a high-income country such as the US, modelling studies have shown that the potential public health benefit of CAB-LA is jeopardised by its cost," the authors note.

The article draws on the Foundation's 2021 Access to Medicine Index to argue that a lack of access to essential medicines is more widespread. "The 2021 [Access to Medicine Index] found that only eight companies implemented ways to make it easier to get medicine. In poorer countries, less than half of the most needed medicines were available."

Read the full article in the Mail & Guardian and find more results of the 2021 Access to Medicine Index here.

Project Syndicate op-ed: Insulin Belongs to the World

In an op-ed published by Project Syndicate, Access to Medicine Foundation CEO Jayasree K. Iyer argues that governments and pharmaceutical companies must do their part to increase access to insulin in low- and middle-income countries – including not just older forms of human insulin, but also the innovative analog insulins which are increasingly becoming the preferred choice of both diabetes patients and doctors.

Two years of COVID-19: lessons the pandemic taught about delivering essential vaccines

In an article for Pharmaceutical Technology, healthcare reporter Darcy Jimenez explores the lessons of COVID-19 for the supply and distribution of essential vaccines – drawing on insights from an interview with the Access to Medicine Foundation's Margo Warren.

What’s the use of anti-HIV injections when those who need it most can’t use it?

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Project Syndicate op-ed: Insulin Belongs to the World

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