Billions of people around the world lack access to medicines, vaccines and other health technologies. Despite major public contributions, pharmaceutical development and production are largely controlled by the private sector, in particular by large transnational companies known as Big Pharma.
The Pharma Public Coalition for Europe (Public Pharma for Europe, PPfE) was created to catalyse change by advocating and supporting public leadership and accountability in the establishment, continuation and expansion of public pharmaceutical infrastructures, policies and governance mechanisms in Europe.
The group, which aims to promote the right to health on a global scale, is made up of a wide range of networks, social movements, civil society organisations, social profit organisations, patients, scientists, activists and academics. Based in Europe, it seeks to operate within global solidarity networks working towards Public Pharma worldwide. The CSOs involved include Abundance (UK), BUKO Pharma-Kampagne (Germany), Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) (International), Health Action International (HAI) (Netherlands), Medico International (Germany), Medicine for the People (MPLP) (Belgium), Organization for Workers’ Initiative and Democratisation (BRID) (Croatia), People's Health Movement (PHM) Europe, People's Medicines Alliance (PMA) (International), Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation (Netherlands), Pharma für Alle (Switzerland), Salud por Derecho (Spain), and Viva Salud (Belgium).
More equal access to healthcare
The Coalition remains firm in its argument that the current profit-driven pharmaceutical model is characterised by a number of dysfunctions that significantly impede the global realisation of the right to health. These dysfunctions lead to a lack of innovation, private appropriation of public resources, shortages of essential health technologies, exorbitant drug prices, biased clinical trials and distortions in drug prescribing. They also deepen the tensions and inequalities between the countries of the North and the countries of the South.
Recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these problems, the PPfE Coalition stresses the importance of recognizing that they are long-standing systemic and structural problems that have plagued public health for decades. As a result, the group argues that strengthening public leadership and accountability, including the establishment, continuation and expansion of Public Pharma can serve as a remedy to Big Pharma's abuses and better protect people's health.
According to the PPfE Coalition, Public Pharma refers to the infrastructure, policies and governance mechanisms dedicated to achieving the above objectives. This includes institutional arrangements where governments have real decision-making power and can establish governance focused on the public interest. It does not include initiatives that use public resources, whether financial or human, to reduce risks for private companies.
A response to public health needs
“We argue that the role of Public Pharma should go beyond the initial phases of drug production, emergencies or specific categories of disease. Governments should assume their duty to improve public health not only by minimising the risks for private companies, but by actively participating in the research, development, production and distribution of health technologies to meet public health needs..concludes Alan Rossi Silva, Project Coordinator at the People's Health Movement (PHM) and member of the coalition.
To achieve this, the coalition relies on a combination of approaches, This includes raising awareness in all sectors of society, mobilising collective political power to drive forward change and putting forward concrete proposals to establish, continue and extend Pharma Public in Europe.
Would you like to find out more or join the Pharma Public for Europe Coalition?
