Problemática del acceso a los medicamentos: disponibilidad y la producción local en América latina

Abstract

Inequality in access to medicines is perceived as a symptom of the weaknesses of the health system and implies a failure on the part of governments to fulfill their obligations to their citizens in terms of their right to health protection. Integrating the perspective of health as an inherent right of the population and, at the same time, the perspective of health as a strategic space for the development of the productive and technological base, value creation, generation of investment, income, employment, knowledge and innovation, are key to improving access. The objective of this paper is to present the problem of access to medicines from the perspective of their availability and to describe the situation of the Latin American market. The Latin American scenario is complex: countries with different economic realities, failed integration projects, public health spending below 6%, low investment in research and development, preference for imports, non-convergent legislation and tendencies towards nationalism in high-income countries for the return of production to the country of origin. Despite the limitations described above, there are productive capacities in the region that need to be strengthened. Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and Chile are the countries called upon to lead regional production through diversification. At this time, the solution is for the region to put regional projects before individual interests in order to achieve sanitary self-sufficiency. Keywords: Access; production; availability; integration; legislation; regulatory agency; Latin America