The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for better access to medicines to help bridge the gap for neurological disorders in a new report.
The report, Improving Access to Medicines for Neurological Disorders, outlines the barriers that prevent access to essential medicines and also presents a framework for action needed to address them.
Currently the leading cause of disability worldwide, neurological disorders, including stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, affected more than three billion people in 2021, according to a study released by The Lancet Neurology.
Additionally, more than 80% of neurological death and health loss occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), while the treatment gap exceeds 75% in most low-income countries and 50% in most middle-income countries, despite significant progress made in developing safe and cost-effective medicines.
The report sets out a number of factors that prevent access to treatment for neurological disorders, including poor health financing, high drug costs, insufficient public awareness, poor healthcare infrastructure and a lack of healthcare provider training, while also considering existing health inequities, which disproportionately affect populations in LMICs, poverty, rural areas and other vulnerable groups, in achieving universal health coverage.
WHO’s framework for stakeholders aims to help step up multi-level, multi-sectoral action and address barriers to sustaining access to essential medicines for neurological disorders.
This includes proposed actions to address multiple areas across the health system, such as policy and regulatory environments, health infrastructure and education systems, while also highlighting the importance of engaging with individuals with lived experience and the importance of collaboration at country, regional and global levels, as well as among stakeholder groups.
Christophe Rerat, senior technical officer, medicines and health products division, WHO, commented: “With the proposed approach for neurological medicines, we have a robust set of actions and a clear way forward to improve access to these essential medicines.”
The news comes after WHO published a new implementation tool kit for the Intersectoral global action plan (IGAP) on epilepsy and other neurological disorders in July, which outlines specific actions and resources to improve care and help countries improve services for people living with neurological conditions, aligning with IGAP’s 2031 targets.