Medicine shortages pose an ever-increasing problem around the European Union. In the most direct way, they affect the thousands of patients not receiving the medication they need, when they need it. But this is a problem that concerns all of us.
Until now, Member States have been left to tackle the issue of shortages all alone. All the while, it has become clearer than ever that this is pan-European and, in fact, often global. Member States on their own don’t have the right policy tools to tackle medicine shortages effectively.
To respond, Health Commissioner Kyriakides announced that the EU Commission will investigate solutions that solve shortages. But a key question remains—what is the best approach to solving this vital problem?
Since our meeting in the fall of 2019, we are now comprised of several organisations: PGEU, EPHA, EAHP, GIRP, and Affordable Medicines Europe. Together, our aim is to focus a lens on the best solution to medicine shortages.
What was the first step in our work? Convening a medicine shortages webinar series we called “Zooming in on Solutions.” As the description reveals, we held several webinars that focus on solutions to this problem.
Read the press release of the event series.
Check out the summary of the four events we organised in 2020.