By Emmanuel Akpakwu
The fact that over 2 billion people worldwide still lack access to essential and live-saving medicines is not just a statistic – it’s a global failure.
This inequity isn’t due to a lack of innovation or medical breakthroughs. The medicines exist. The expertise exists. What’s missing is a system capable of delivering these life-saving treatments to the people who need them most. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where over 80% of the world’s population live, systemic barriers – regulatory complexity, fragmented supply chains, high cost of capital, and challenges in procurement – prevent millions from accessing even the most basic care.
Many pharmaceutical manufacturers are eager to expand into LMICs – not just to break new ground, but to drive meaningful progress in global health. However, ecosystems in these regions are frequently constrained by regulatory hurdles, fragmented supply chains, and weak competitive structures that allow unscrupulous market practices to thrive. As a result, identical medicines are often found cheaper in wealthier geographies, such as Europe, than in LMICs, further deepening inequities. Unpredictable demand further complicates the delivery of quality medicine at scale. Governments and institutional buyers in LMICs struggle to secure sustainable access to quality medicines, often forced to choose lower-quality products due to cost constraints, resulting in poor health outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Ultimately, patients, communities, and the global health ecosystem suffer. This is a crisis of delivery, not discovery. But it is solvable – and we already have the tools to fix it.
Reimagining What’s Possible
To bridge these gaps, bold solutions are essential. Simplifying market entry for manufacturers is critical, as opaque regulatory systems and fragmented demand create significant barriers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Demand aggregation and centralized procurement platforms can unlock these markets, facilitating access to high-quality, innovative therapies.
Streamlining supply chains is equally vital, as inefficiencies in traditional distribution models inflate costs and delay access. Digitizing supply chains and integrating stakeholders can remove bottlenecks, reduce waste, and accelerate delivery.
Innovating healthcare financing is also key to unlocking new capital for governments and institutional buyers. Mechanisms like pooled procurement funds, outcome-based models, and sustainability-linked financing provide critical resources without overburdening budgets, ensuring sustainable healthcare access.
Why This Moment Matters
The urgency to act has never been greater. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of global supply chains and the inequities in medicine access. It also revealed something critical: when mobilized, the global community can achieve extraordinary outcomes.
Improving medicine access requires collective effort. Governments need policies enabling faster access and collaboration with manufacturers. Pharmaceutical manufacturers should also commit to partnerships simplifying access and supporting scalable delivery. NGOs and multilateral agencies must also advocate for systems integrating digital innovation, enhancing transparency and efficiency. By uniting these stakeholders around shared goals, we can build a system that benefits everyone; most importantly, the patients who have been under-served for far too long.
The Promise of Progress
This isn’t just a vision – it’s a reality that organizations like Axmed are actively building. At Axmed, we are addressing these challenges head-on by combining digital innovation, innovative financing solutions, and an unwavering commitment to equity. Through demand aggregation, streamlined procurement, and the creation of efficient supply networks, we are ensuring that high-quality medicines reach even the most under-served communities.
By integrating technology with financing mechanisms that unlock new sources of capital, we are creating sustainable systems that transform access to care. The potential impact is extraordinary: millions of lives saved through timely access to treatments, governments empowered with sustainable health solutions, and manufacturers thriving in untapped markets while making a meaningful global impact.
The Future Is Within Reach
Access to medicine is a fundamental right, not a privilege. As we near the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, the stakes couldn’t be higher – and the opportunities for progress couldn’t be clearer.
The question is no longer whether we can solve the global medicine gap – it’s whether we have the courage to act. The tools, expertise, and innovation are already in our hands. What’s needed now is bold leadership and a shared determination to build a system that puts people first, delivering health, dignity, and opportunity to those who need it most. The time to act is now – together, we can transform global healthcare for generations to come.
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The writer is the Chief Executive Officer Axmed