Portable Screening Devices for Medicine Quality: Putting Power into the Hands of Regulators in Low-Resource Settings
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This brief analyzes the benefits and challenges of using portable screening devices to regulate medicine quality in low-income countries.
Across Asia and the Pacific, countries are striving to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC)—equitable access to quality medical care without undue financial hardship—in order to meet their population’s right to health. The quality medical care component of UHC relies on accessible and good quality supplies of essential medicines that treat patients as intended, and do not expose them to additional adverse effects. When medicine standards are not upheld, patients are placed in harm’s way, and waste out‑of‑pocket payments. Moreover, the community’s trust in the health-care system is also undermined.