Section Introduction

Ensuring a person's access to essential medicines requires a much broader perspective than focusing at an individual level.

The availability of essential medicines is heavily influenced by global factors including:

• National governments
• International organisations, including the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and World Health Organisation (WHO)
• International coorporations, including pharmaceutical companies

This section will examine the international determinants of drug availability.

Modules in this section:

WTO and TRIPS

The WHO and the Essential Medicines List

Quiz on this section:

WTO and TRIPS quiz (external link to www.ukam2007.org opens in same window)