Taking medicines for children forward

Abstract

There has been progress over the last 10 years in getting medicines for children on the shelf, but there is still much to do. A major challenge is getting a medicine from the shelf to the child, for the right purpose and at the right dose. So we consider that there are four main strategies that need to be promoted to continue to improve access to medicines for children: 1. Continuing advocacy and increasing demand 2. Ensuring fi nancing and reducing out of pocket payments, through universal health coverage or health insurance 3. Strengthening the supply chain for medicines for children, as part of strengthening health systems 4. Improving prescribing of medicines for children by all health professionals. It is tempting to insist on special paediatric medicine programs and projects but this approach risks medicines for children becoming a special ‘silo’. So we need to keep the balance between the special and the routine, and promote development of health systems that deliver for the ‘child’ as part of patient centred care. Achieving that balance will deliver on medicines for children and health outcomes.