To prevent patients from paying too much out of their own pockets, we have to ensure equitable access to NCD medicines and technologies with affordable and effective financing. Furthermore, promoting fair prices and cost-effective interventions are essential to achieving universal health coverage and to this end, strategies for measuring, monitoring, and managing prices must be devised to promote equitable access to these health products. There is not one single approach that suits all systems, but there is a universal need to promote equity in access to effective new products, by ensuring that medical advances are affordable and working with all stakeholders to sustainably respond to public health needs.
Building on the foundation of 4 previous Hard Talks on NCD medicines and health technologies access, and in preparation for the Global dialogue on sustainable financing for NCDs and mental health in June 2024, we will use this platform to highlight current challenges, and examine possible opportunities and policy tools to reduce the burden of out-of-pocket spending on people with NCDs. In this Hard Talk session, we consider various perspectives to understand drivers of high out-of-pocket expenditures on NCDs, existing policies tackling affordability of NCD medicines and health products, as well as opportunities for further improvement.
The aim of this NCD Hard Talk is to leverage perspectives on current challenges and opportunities in lowering out-of-pocket health expenditure for patients living with NCDs, as well as successful levers and policy options, particularly in the context of low- and middle-income countries. This NCD hard talk explores possible avenues for multisectoral collaboration towards improved and equitable access to NCD medicines and health products for patients.