[6] However, given the number of diseases that are preventable, other factors that are blocking the access of patients to these products, such as cost of treatments to the individual, also need to be addressed, rather than just focusing on developing new drugs.
It has been shown that early detection and effective management of disease can be provided by appropriately-trained, non-physician, healthcare workers.
[9] This target is achieved by the contribution of 0.1% of advanced western countries gross national production (GNP) to fund global health, this recommendation was set by the WHO in 2001 and is estimated to save 8 million lives per year.
[11] In a positive development for the closing of the gap, in the 2012 London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases many parties, including governments, funding organisations and drug companies, agreed to work towards the eradication of neglected tropical diseases.
[13] They criticise the fact that simple medicines which stop curable and treatable conditions such as diarrhoea and malaria are available in these countries.
Access to medicine can be inhibited by many circumstances such as poverty, strict government regime and inadequate healthcare systems and infrastructure.