Everyone should have access to the life-changing benefits of medicines and other healthcare interventions, like vaccines, diagnostics and therapies.
However, despite medical advances, some people can’t get the healthcare interventions they need, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Increasing access to healthcare interventions doesn’t need to come at the expense of innovation, or vice-versa. The public and private sectors must work together to increase the range of interventions available and the number of people who can access them.
Intellectual property rights and commercial reward have a role to play in developing and delivering interventions – but health benefit should be the priority.
We’re committed to making sure that the healthcare interventions we support are affordable, appropriate, adapted and available, particularly in low-and middle-income countries.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Research funders and pharmaceutical companies should use practices like voluntary licensing, patent pooling, and equitable pricing to make sure healthcare interventions are accessible to the people who need them most.
Read our full approach to equitable access to healthcare interventions.
Sources: World Health Organization – Equitable access to essential medicines(opens in a new tab) and WHO Medicines Strategy(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab)
We want the people we fund to maximise access to the healthcare interventions they’re researching and developing.
To support our grantholders we:
We’re planning to publish an annual report on the impact our funding policies and award conditions have had on improving access. The report will respect grantholder and commercial confidentiality.
We expect all our funding partnerships to apply the principles outlined in our approach to equitable access to healthcare interventions.
We’re working with public, private and civil society organisations to better understand and overcome the challenges around access to healthcare interventions, particularly those that can be addressed during the research and development phase.
To begin with, we will:
Read our policy reports and response to major consultations.
If you have any questions, contact William Hall