Pharmaceutical Public Health
An emerging field in global health
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 3.8 aims to “achieve universal health coverage (UHC), which includes financial risk protection, access to quality essential healthcare services, and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all”. However, billions of people in low-resource settings do not have access to affordable medicines, vaccines and other health products. Furthermore, many are exposed to the risk of receiving substandard or falsified products.
Pharmaceutical public health is an emerging field in global health, which aims at analysing and strengthening the pharmaceutical systems. It requires a multidisciplinary approach to navigate and integrate the different components of an effective pharmaceutical system. Not only research, but also education should integrate different disciplines and approaches. We do this with our short course Pharmaceutical Policies in Health Systems, launched in 2021.
Research portal
Explore the publications and projects of this unit in the research portal of ITM.
Fighting a global inequity
The reasons for the gap in access to quality-assured health products are multifactorial, ranging from an inadequate global governance of pharmaceutical innovation that prioritizes commercial interests over public health, to the weakness of many national pharmaceutical and regulatory systems. The strengthening of pharmaceutical systems should be based on the overarching assumptions that areas of interventions are interconnected to each other, and that essential health products are public goods, not commercial commodities.
Stay informed
Raffaella Ravinetto
Dr Raffaella Ravinetto is an associate professor within and Head of the Department of Public Health.
Follow her on Twitter or explore her research profile.
Saleh Aljadeeah
Dr Saleh Aljadeeah is a post-doc researcher within the Department of Public Health.
Follow him on Twitter or explore his research profile.
Belen Tarrafeta
Belen Tarrafeta is a policy advisor and researcher within the Department of Public Health.
Follow her on Twitter or explore her research profile.
Loes Meukens
Loes Meukens is a research assistant within the Department of Public Health.
✉ lmeukens@itg.be
Explore her research profile.
Ana Lucia Martinez Abarca
Ana Lucia Martinez Abarca is a research assistant within the Department of Public Health.
Explore her research profile.
Dive into the world of pharmaceutical public health
News
Securing access to essential medicines in Europe – Unpacking the potential of the EU List of Critical Medicines - Tarrafeta (2024)
The hidden crisis of children without access to pain therapy - Ravinetto, Tshilengi, Kananga (2023)
The often lethal “side effects” of sanctions on pharmaceutical systems - Aljadeeah, Ravinetto (2023)
Uncertainties about the quality of medical products globally: lessons from multidisciplinary research - Kingori, Peeters, Abimbola, Ravinetto (BMJ Global Health, 2023)
After reviewing progress on improving global medicine quality, participants plan next global conference (Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, 2023)
The global gap in access to opioid analgesics for pain management: why is this (still) a silent crisis? - Ravinetto (2023)
Towards a new structural approach to pharmaceutical innovation, intellectual property and public health: If not now, when? - Ravinetto (2021)
Switching the poles of infectious diseases outbreaks: Time for a new gaze? - Ravinetto (2020)
BTI Blog - Ravinetto
Interesting links
Be-cause Health: Belgian platform on international health and access to quality medicines
Quality Medicines for all (QUAMED)
Medicine Quality – Infectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO)
