§ Earl Howeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they have taken to ensure that lessons from the first two years of the Accelerating Access Initiative, a public-private partnership between United Nations agencies and research-based pharmaceutical companies, are incorporated into the Government's policies for access to medicines in developing countries. [HL1278]
§ Baroness AmosWe welcome partnerships like the Accelerating Access Initiative, which in the past two years has resulted in some increased access to HIV/AIDS drugs in Africa, yet progress and coverage are low and the challenges remain immense. The recent Governmental Working Group on Access to Medicines examined the impact of existing research and development-based pharmaceutical industry initiatives offering differential pricing. Our report on Access to Medicines concluded that, provided it is supported by other actions, differential pricing has a real role to play in substantially increasing poor people's access to essential drugs. As part of a differential pricing framework the report recommends, among other things, actions to improve health systems, and positive trade action to prevent leakage of medicines, and work to facilitate predictability and sustainability of access to affordable medicines.
The Government hope to gain further international commitment to improved access to medicines through the G8 process and to demonstrate success of the differential pricing framework by piloting it in a few developing countries.