Access to medicines for NCD prevention and control

This chapter is structured around the four themes of the WHO framework on essential medicines: rational selection and use; availability and affordability; sustainable financing; and functioning health and supply systems for NCD management and care. Rational selection aims to ensure that the most effective, safe and cost-effective medicines are chosen and provided to people needing them to ensure optimal health benefits and appropriate adherence to their treatment. Prices of medicines should be affordable for the health system and the individuals, without compromising on quality, equitable access and rational use. The chapter emphasizes that essential medicines, including those for NCDs, should be included in national benefit packages and ideally be provided for free or at a very low cost to the patients either at the point of delivery or through reimbursement mechanisms. The chapter also highlights that procurement mechanisms need to be in place to guarantee that only quality-assured and the most affordable medicines are purchased. This includes purchasing lower-cost generic/biosimilar quality-assured medicines whenever possible. Multi-country and global pooled procurement mechanisms are options to consider when national volumes alone are insufficient.