Think Globally, Prescribe Locally: How Rational Pharmaceutical Policy in the U.S. Can Improve Global Access to Essential Medicines

Global disparities in access to essential medicines stem from multiple factors including high product costs, inadequate government and aid agency cooperation, rigid intellectual property protections, and weak local health leadership, while pharmaceutical innovation has disproportionately focused on developed country health problems. The US can help address these disparities by working with international organizations like the WHO and Médecins Sans Frontières to strengthen pharmaceutical delivery systems in low- and middle-income countries.