A World Health Organisation (WHO) report ‘Keeping the 100-year-old Promise – making insulin access universal’ criticises the fact that insulin is still out of reach for many patients.
The report lists the main barriers to access being:
● High prices
● Low Availability
● Producers
● Weak Health Systems
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has reminded the world that the scientists who discovered insulin 100 years ago refused to profit from their discovery and sold the patent for just one dollar.
He said: “Unfortunately, that gesture of solidarity has been overtaken by a multi-billion-dollar business that has created vast access gaps. WHO is working with countries and manufacturers to close these gaps and expand access to this life-saving medicine for everyone who needs it.”
Half of all the people needing insulin for type 2 diabetes does not get it.
The report highlights that while three in four people affected by type 2 diabetes live in countries outside of North America and Europe, they account for less than 40% of the revenue from insulin sales.
The report suggests several actions to improve access to insulins and related products, including:
● Boosting human insulin production and supply and diversifying the manufacturing base for biosimilar analogue insulins to create competition and reduce prices;
● Improve affordability by regulating prices and mark-ups, using pooled procurement and improving transparency in the way prices are set;
● Promote local manufacturing capacity in under-served regions;
● Promote R&D centred on the needs of low- and middle-income countries;
● Ensure that increased access to insulin is accompanied by prompt diagnosis, and access to affordable devices for blood sugar monitoring and injecting insulin;
● Use health resources wisely by selecting human insulin where possible and allocate adequate funding to provide a full package of care.
The report follows on from the WHO Global Compact on Diabetes.
Advocacy Action: Has this WHO report been raised in your Parliament? Are there access issues such as those mentioned in the report that apply to patients in your country? Is there a plan to improve access? Could you call for answers, or arrange for evidence gathering and ideas? Can you pull in others to help such as patient groups and professional medical bodies? Is your Government supporting the WHO’s Global Compact on Diabetes?
https://www.who.int/initiatives/the-who-global-diabetes-compact#:~:text=The%20WHO%20Global%20Dia betes%20Compact%20has%20the%20vision%20 of%20redcingand%20quality%20treatment%20and%20care.