This week, leaders from around the world are
converging in New York City for the 70th annual
United Nations General Assembly. On Friday,
Pope Francis spoke to the UN. Of the many
pressing issues on the table one theme has
emerged: how can we make progress towards
achieving sustainable development in countries
with more limited resources?
At Novartis , we discover new ways to improve
and extend life. Not only do we need to serve
people who live in countries that can afford
treatment, but we should also help expand
access to the most underserved populations.
However, donations and one-off philanthropy
are not enough. While programs that provide
cash and free products to people in the
developing world have helped to some extent,
they are often one time in nature, and do not
deliver a lasting impact. In addition, they are
subject to the ups and downs of the marketplace.
If business is good, donations are plenty. But
what happens if business isn’t good?
What’s needed are social business programs – or
innovative business models that build local,
sustainable capabilities – which create an
impact for society that can endure over time.
That is why we just announced Novartis Access,
a new social business model where we will offer
a portfolio of 15 on- and off-patent medicines for
$1 per treatment per month to patients in low-
and low- to middle-income countries. These
products have been selected based on the World
Health Organization’s essential medicines list
and are among the most commonly prescribed
medicines in these countries, where nearly 75%
of non-communicable disease (NCD) deaths
occur. This portfolio addresses the top seven
causes of death in these areas, and the four
main types of NCDs: cardiovascular diseases,
diabetes, respiratory illnesses and cancer.
Novartis Access is unprecedented in terms of
scope. Our goal is to roll it out using a phased
approach in 30 countries spanning Africa, Asia,
Latin America and Central Eastern Europe. The
first countries we are in discussion with are
Kenya, Ethiopia and Vietnam. These three
countries have significant and diverse access
challenges, yet also have existing Novartis
presence on the ground, allowing for full
engagement. The learnings from the markets
will be essential to our plans for expanding to
additional countries.
We already have experience navigating access
challenges in the developing world through a
variety of approaches, including philanthropy,
zero-profit and social ventures. Novartis Access
builds on this work to make medicines available
to people who need them – from treatments for
malaria to leprosy – and takes our efforts to the
next level.
But we at Novartis are only one piece of the
puzzle. Tools like the Access to Medicines Index
are useful in encouraging the pharmaceuticals
industry to improve access. Collaboration will be
also key to success. We will work together with
governments, NGOs, and private sector partners
to strengthen healthcare systems by addressing
fundamental issues such as a lack of disease
awareness, a shortage of trained professionals,
and weak distribution channels.
Governments in emerging economies are
already starting to create building blocks for
addressing these challenges. For example, the
Ethiopian government has made some key
improvements to local healthcare infrastructure.
Over the past 10 years, it has expanded health
services to local citizens, quadrupling the
number of small health posts or clinics and
increasing the number of public hospitals by
nearly 40% . Partnerships with governments,
NGOs and others active in this space will be
crucial to building on improvements like those
in Ethiopia to ensure patients are properly
educated, diagnosed and treated.
When it comes to healthcare, all stakeholders –
patients, service providers, pharmaceutical
companies and governments – know that
something needs to change. With this week’s
high-level events bringing together powerful
stakeholders from around the globe, there is an
opportunity to align on how we can best work
together to solve these problems. The business
world is well aware of the immense
opportunities in developing markets, but it is
also our responsibility to recognize and address
critical social and health issues that impede
progress. I believe that a commercially
sustainable, social business approach can
together with all stakeholders make a powerful
long-term impact for the people who need it.
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