§ Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will set out in the Official Report the text of that part of the speech of the Minister for Health to the World Health Assembly in Geneva on 8 May which related to the World Health Organisation's essential drugs programme and to advice and assistance on medical and drug use problems in the Third World.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe relevant part of the speech which I gave to the World Health Assembly in Geneva on 9 May was as follows
I should like next to make a few remarks about the essential drugs programme. The nub of the problem is that we all want developing countries to have the benefit of worthwhile advances in pharmacology whilst avoiding the dangers. We also want them to have adequate information about such things as proper dosages, shelf-life and cold chain storage. I want to stress the United Kingdom Government are committed to the principles of the Action Programme and completely support all the measures the WHO has taken so far. This is a highly complex matter and our aim must be to make careful progress. We must now analyse the practical consequences of what we have done so far before moving on to the next stage. We in the United Kingdom are giving practical assistance to developing countries. For example, we give considerable assistance to Egypt with aspects of its drugs policy. We assist less developed countries by offering practical training in the United Kingdom National Health Service and the United Kingdom Pharmaceutical Industry to medicines control inspectors. This leads to the improvement of the systems of ordering, stocking and distributing drugs down to hospitals, regions and outstation dispensaries. We also provide quality assurance for exports though the WHO Certification scheme.The information we disseminate on pharmaceutical matters is considerable. We pass to the WHO information on drug licensing decisions and adverse drug reactions relevant to drug safety. In addition, the British Pharmacopeia and the British National Formulary are circulated world-wide. These are recognised as source documents for detailed information on quality control. We are always pleased to assist with further information if any country wants it.Whilst not directly linked to the WHO Action Programme itself, the United Kingdom Overseas Development Administration spent some $25 million in 1982 on the health sector alone—this excludes main contributions to international organisations such as the WHO and on activities such as population, water and sanitation which also contribute to the health of developing countries. The ODA is always willing to consider requests from developing countries in receipt of aid for help with the implementation of the Action Programme.254WThe British pharmaceutical industry has also given substantial support to the Action Programme. It recently announced it was prepared to fund a programme to assess drug requirements in a developing country. The aim of the proposed programme would be to define ways of improving the distribution of medicines, particularly in rural areas. The programme would be undertaken in collaboration with the WHO and I particularly welcome this evidence of the industry's support for furthering the aims of the Action Programme.