[4]: 72-74  Claus Roepnack, then CEO of a German pharmaceutical company, Hoechst AG, asked whether the activists of HAI meant to overthrow "existing social and economic systems in favor of authoritarian regimes".

[4]: 72 In 1982, HAI proposed a draft for “an international code on pharmaceuticals”[13] at the 35th World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting in an attempt to regulate the conduct of multinational drug companies,[4]: 80-82  especially in developing countries.

[10][8][14] In 1984, HAI produced a video, Hard to Swallow, in collaboration with Oxfam about the experiences of Dianna Melrose of pharmaceutical sales rep practices in Peru.

[4]: 78 At the 41st World Health Assembly in 1987, HAI organised a large lobby of delegates to advocate for stronger controls on advertising by the pharmaceutical industry.

[4]: 128 In 1989, the organization testified in front of the FDA arguing against the approval of Norplant, a hormone capsule implant developed by Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories and designed as a long-acting contraceptive.

[15] HAI works in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and at the global level with WHO to gather snakebite incidence and treatments, including research and community education on first-aid and prevention.

[34] HAI received a $3.5 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust in 2018 to study insulin access in low and middle income countries.

HAI uses the TRIPS Agreement,[36][37] issuing policy recommendations on health technology assessment (HTA) and raising awareness on the impact of pharmaceutical marketing on prescribing behaviours.