Access to essential medicines: Medicines price information exchange

Overview

Accessing affordable, high-quality medicines is crucial for universal health coverage (UHC). Unfortunately, the prices of both innovative and generic pharmaceuticals are often unreasonably high, leading to significant variations in prices across different sectors and healthcare facilities. Recognizing this challenge, the Member States of the Region have committed to collaborating on sharing procurement and pricing information to promote access to affordable medicines. 

This policy brief provides an overview of the current medicine procurement processes in the region, with a particular focus on the availability of information regarding medicine prices. Its main objective is to lay the groundwork for the development of a medicine price exchange platform for Member States in South-East Asia. The brief emphasizes the advantages of such platforms, including enhanced transparency, informed decision-making in procurement, and improved access to affordable medicines.