Achieving Equitable Access to Medicines and Health Services: a COVID-19-time Recalled Matter

Document Type : Review Paper

Authors

1 Toxicology and Diseases Group (TDG), Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center (PSRC), The Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (TIPS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

3 Evidence-Based Evaluation of Cost-Effectiveness and Clinical Outcomes Group, Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center (PSRC), and the Pharmaceutical Management and Economics Research Center (PMERC), The Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (TIPS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

4 Department of Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Administration, School of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

10.22037/ijpr.2021.116120.15709

Abstract

In the 21st century, while some people seek to use artificial intelligence for health services delivery, others have to surrender their health rights to meet basic needs. The gradient in health has become more pronounced in the COVID-19 crisis considering discrepancies in disease prevalence, geographical accessibility, availability, affordability, quality/safety of health services, and human resources. Through PubMed, GoogleScholar, Scopus, WHO, OECD, and UN databases, the English documents and global statistics were collected. Determining the role of health equity-related factors and introducing mechanisms to maintain regional and international justice in health, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic, were among the core concepts of this paper. Social determinants of health (SDH), interregional and intraregional bodies are the main drivers of discrimination in health services. Governments should relish chief health strategists' role in possessing legitimacy, accountability, direction, transparent performance, fairness, and good governance in one word. Improving health literacy and telemedicine, providing income support, and reforming insurance where needed, are other national mechanisms to amend inequity. Among interregional issues, what is concerning is the matter of sanctions on access to health services, which is against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Shortage of vital medications, ventilators, test kits, COVID-19 vaccines, pharmaceutical raw materials, foreign currency, decreased national currency value, purchasing power parity, and quality/safety of health services resulted from such oppression. The article also provides practical suggestions, paving the way for re-establishing global solidarity and developing health justice in deprived regions.

Graphical Abstract

Achieving Equitable Access to Medicines and Health Services: a COVID-19-time Recalled Matter

Keywords

References

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Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research
Volume 20, Issue 4
Autumn 2021
Pages 450-466

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