Medicine Expenditure in Developing Countries

Medicine expenditure in developing countries is a critical issue that affects access to essential medications and overall healthcare outcomes. This chapter provides an overview of the factors influencing medicine expenditure in developing countries and presents recommendations to improve the situation. The factors affecting medicine expenditure include economic constraints, limited access to essential medications, pricing and affordability challenges, inadequate healthcare infrastructure, and weak regulatory systems. To address these challenges, several recommendations are proposed. These recommendations include promoting the use of generic medications and biosimilars, strengthening health system governance, implementing health insurance schemes, enhancing health information systems, and fostering research and development capacity. Other recommendations involve addressing intellectual property rights issues, improving medication access through regional cooperation and technology transfer, and promoting rational drug use. Additionally, this chapter highlights the importance of collaboration, research, and international support in improving medicine expenditure in developing countries. Implementing these recommendations can contribute to more affordable and equitable access to medications, better health outcomes, and progress toward achieving universal health coverage in developing countries.