Perspectives on women’s health and medicines in developing countries

Abstract

Health systems in developing countries are weak and fractured. There is endemic lack of accountability and poor legislative controls over health delivery. Health budgets are paltry with criminal negligence of health and education sectors since inception of many of these nations. There are misplaced priorities in resource allocation. Wars, regional conflicts manmade and natural disasters have pushed these civilizations further back in time. Lack of cohesion in health infrastructures reflects a major failure by policy makers and managers. Poor drug regulation and control is a natural fall-out of the above factors. Urban and rural divide in access to modern health facilities and essential medicines is notable in all interagency reports. State failure in delivering health and social care to her citizens has left a vacuum, only to be filled by the private sector with variable regulation. Knowledge about safety of medicines leaves a lot to be desire compounded by menace of counterfeit and spurious drugs. In this chapter I have highlighted some of the health system weaknesses in low to middle income countries as well as some individual drug stories.