‘First Person’ series

With the help of partners like the MPP, the Global Fund has accelerated access to key new products in the countries it supports, putting 18.9 million people on antiretroviral therapy for HIV in 2018, and providing more than 83% of HIV-positive mothers with ARV therapy to keep them alive and prevent transmission of the virus to their babies, up from just 1% in 2000.

It is fundamental that countries willing to provide greater access to essential medicines can refer to a reliable up-to-date database like MedsPaL to check the patent status of the medicines they want to procure. Access to medicines is certainly an important pillar of Universal Health Coverage and MedsPaL supports its efficient implementation at country level.