Essential medicines

Medicines save and improve lives, but two thirds of the people in the world cannot afford them. And yet while access is a problem for tens of millions of people, global spending on medicines continues to rise, accounting for 20-30% of global health spending.

However, 50-70% of drug spending in developing countries has no discernible impact on health outcomes. This illustrates the other side of the problem – that where and when medicines are available, they are often used inappropriately.