The Access Our Medicine initiative was developed to raise public awareness and engagement in the global problem of access to medicine.
The costs of medicine are rising. Of the 12 new cancer drugs approved last year in the US, 11 of them cost over $100,000.
This affects us all. Millions of Canadians skip doses because they can’t afford the costs. One in three Americans has trouble paying for food, medication or both. Three-quarters of women with breast cancer in India can’t afford the medicine they need.
Not enough people are talking about this problem. Most people don’t think about medicine until they are sick. They can’t imagine an alternative to the current system or how they might support change. And this is not helped by the scant coverage of this issue in mainstream media.
It doesn’t have to be this way. There are individuals and organizations working on ways to make medicines more affordable including patent pools, biobanks, open labs, nonprofit pharma companies, R&D prize funds, and global treaties.
You can help!
Sign – Add your name to the online declaration to show decision makers that making medicine more affordable should be a priority.
Share – We need lots of people to sign the declaration. We hope to secure 100,000 signatures for World Health Day 2015 to demonstrate that access to affordable medicine needs to be a priority in the UN 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. These goals are being discussed NOW so we have the opportunity to affect global priorities for the next 15 years!
Write – We want more people to write about this issue – especially stories of those struggling with unaffordable medicine and also those working on solutions. Why not write an article or letter in your local paper, community newsletter, blog or Facebook page – and let us know about it!
Talk – Why not ask your family, friends and co-workers about this issue? Have they experienced the rising cost of medicine? To what extent would they do anything to secure medicine for the people they love? How can we make access to medicine more affordable?
The Access Our Medicine Initiative team is working with many different individuals and organizations connected to this issue. We are seeking to connect personal stories of struggle and those working on new solutions. We are also working with partners to bring together the best ideas in the world. And we are working to highlight the work of organizations that are providing immediate support to those in urgent need of medicines today.
Read the declaration.
Add your voice. Sign the declaration.
The Access Our Medicine Initiative is a project of Tides Canada Initiatives Society supported by the Mindset Foundation.
