Title: INTERNATIONAL HEALTH WORKING GROUP ON PHARMACEUTICALS AS A GLOBAL ISSUE
Author:
Section/SPIG: International Health
Issue Date:
Ensuring Equitable Access to Appropriate and Assured Quality Pharmaceuticals
The APHA IH Working Group on Pharmaceuticals as a Global Issue (Rx Working Group) was formed at an impromptu meeting at the APHA 2004 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Members at that initial meeting were primarily interested in making sure that one or more panels, specifically on pharmaceuticals, were held during the 2005 Annual Meeting, and there were two panels on pharmaceuticals at the 2005 Philadelphia Annual Meeting: “Innovative Organizational Responses to the Pharmaceutical Sector” and “Improving Use and Distribution of Pharmaceuticals.”
The membership of the Rx Working Group has grown to over 75 members. For the 2006 Annual Meeting, members of the Rx Working Group (or colleagues of members) submitted 18 abstracts on some aspect of the pharmaceuticals sector. Many of the abstracts came from staff working on the three USAID-funded projects –- DELIVER, Supply Chain Management Systems, and Rational Drug Management –- and most of those abstracts dealt with themes related to the work of those projects in the field, especially issues related to contraceptives and products for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. The group helped conference organizers to select themes for panels, will suggest moderators as requested, and will keep the Rx Working Group informed about relevant panels with those abstracts that are accepted, including abstracts that were not coordinated through the Rx Working Group.
At a different level, the Rx Working Group has been collaborating with the APHA Working Group on Trade and Health. The broader theme –- how the global pharmaceutical industry is [or is not] regulated and the incentives at play in industry and how they impact access to new or traditional pharmaceuticals –- is a primary interest for a sub-set of the Rx Working Group in the IH Section, and members are kept informed about developments related to pharmaceuticals within this group by mailing out announcements and information forwarded to us by the APHA Working Group on Trade and Health, including two recent resolutions and a policy advocacy initiative on clinical trials and post-marketing surveillance.
Information –- announcements, articles, papers, etc. -– sent to mhuffrousselle@ssds.net will be forwarded to members of the Rx Working Group. E-mail traffic is generally light, as we are not attempting to replace the good discussion groups on pharmaceuticals that already exist (e.g. E-drug).
--Maggie Huff-Rousselle, E-mail: mhuffrousselle@ssds.net