As Africa’s disease burden shifts, access to essential medicines is emerging as an even bigger challenge. A new report launched by the Access to Medicine Foundation has spotlighted how generic medicine manufacturers are responding to rising demand for treatments, particularly for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, while warning that only one in two people living with type 1 diabetes on the continent has reliable access to insulin. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports
The growing number of Africans living with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer is creating a new challenge for health systems already struggling to keep essential medicines within patients’ reach.
That concern took centre stage during a virtual press briefing where the Access to Medicine Foundation launched a new report examining how generic medicine manufacturers are responding to Africa’s changing healthcare needs.
The report warned that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) could become the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030, raising the stakes for a continent where access to medicines is already uneven.
For a person living with type 1 diabetes, the problem is particularly stark. Insulin is not a medicine that can be taken when it becomes available or stopped when supplies run short. It is a daily necessity.
