universities allied for essential medicines


Over 10 million people die each year because they lack access to existing medicines and vaccines. The overwhelming majority of these people live below the poverty line in developing countries and one of the major barriers preventing these people from accessing the treatment they need is the price. They often have to pay out of their own pocket, and for many, the price is far in excess of what they can afford. Pharmaceutical companies can charge such high prices because they have a monopoly, they are the only ones that can produce the medicine for 20 years, and so no-one can compete with them to bring the prices down.

People living in poorer countries often have a high burden of disease and ill health, particularly of infectious diseases. But 90% of all the money invested into research for new treatments goes to problems affecting 10% of the world population. This predominantly goes to medical problems affecting the well-off because they can afford to pay the prices to pharmaceutical companies. In contrast problems that affect the world's poor are often neglected.

There are ways of improving access to treatment for people living in poorer countries. Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM or MedAccess) is a global student movement which has an ever expanding network of groups based at universities across the UK as well as in the US, Germany and Norway. It works towards three main aims focused specifically at universities:

  • Increasing access to the products of university research in developing nations (through a change in the licensing agreement with pharmaceutical companies)
  • Increasing research into neglected diseases
  • Valuing university research based on its positive global impact rather than the monetary gain

UAEM began at Yale University in 2001 when a group of students brought enormous social and media pressure to bear on their university. They worked with the university and with the pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers-Squibb to bring down the price of the anti-retroviral drug Stavudine for HIV from $15000 per person a year to a mere $20 today.

UAEM is an effective and positive way for students to engage with their universities and make a real change to the world around them. It's easy to get involved:

Updated by Beth Sampson, October 2011


last updated : october 8th 2011

Contact ¦ About ¦ Subscribe ¦ Medsin UK ¦ Medsin UCL @ Facebook ¦ Login
© Medsin UCL