Medical Products and Services

The Medical Products and Services division of CEIHD, founded in 2000, is focusing on the need in developing countries for high quality medicines and basic health services at affordable prices. A special focus is family planning, for which the unmet need in many developing countries remains high. CEIHD is helping to facilitate availability in developing countries of high quality, affordable pharmaceutical products that are manufactured in countries of the South. The achievements of CEIHD to date include the following (partial list): ·

>> Introduced to Partners in Population and Development the rationale and mechanisms for collaborative drug approvals. This included a CEIHD survey of the import approval requirements for generic drugs in the Partners member countries.

>> CEIHD is working with Partners to explore the possibility of taking oral contraceptives off prescription in many countries.

>> Designed and implemented a workshop in Beijing, China on pharmaceutical export. This was undertaken at the request of the State Family Planning Commission, Government of China, in June 2002. ·

>> Developed with Pharmacia initial strategies for distribution of some of its patented drug products at modest prices in developing countries.

>> Introduced the new, high quality, low-cost manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) equipment manufactured in Taiwan to dozens of countries.

>> Assembled the information required for regulatory approval of a Chinese misoprostol in one African country.

>> Assisted in a World Bank/WHO conference in Ethiopia, on human resources challenges in 18 African countries in the context of brain drain.

>> Translated oral contraceptive instructions into two Afghan languages.

>> CEIHD has initiated a study called the Barriers Index. We have observed close correlation in developing countries between birth rates and the degree of ease of realistic availability of fertility regulation methods, independent of socioeconomic factors. Our first analysis has examined the relationship between abortion laws and total fertility rates (TFR) across 170 countries.

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