Blog Posts Archives - Health Action International

Home > Blog Posts

Niets magisch aan medicijnprijzen

Geloof jij in magie? Het is lastig te begrijpen hoe farmaceutische bedrijven de kosten van nieuwe medicijnen bepalen. Farmaceuten houden de werkelijke kosten van biomedisch onderzoek en ontwikkeling (R&D) en…

27 February 2020

Nothing magical about medicine prices

Do you believe in magic? Even for the greatest cynics amongst us, it’s difficult to explain just how pharmaceutical companies determine the cost of medicines they market. Pharmaceutical companies rely…

20 February 2020

US puts pressure on the Netherlands over compulsory licenses

The Embassy of the United States has entered the debate around high priced medicines in the Netherlands and released a statement that expresses concern about the Dutch government’s exploration of…

31 January 2020

A busy week at the Court of Justice of the European Union

Two significant announcements have hugely contributed to the transparency and access to medicines movement in the EU this week. The announcements came from the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the…

24 January 2020

How to measure change in EU Policy

It can be difficult to reflect on the importance of achievements as they occur. As another year approaches however, it’s the perfect opportunity to think back on the key moments…

18 December 2019

Health Technology Assessments: will 2020 end the deadlock?

For the last few years Health Action International (HAI) has been working on the issue of joint Health Technology Assessments (HTA). In short, HTA looks at added value of a…

17 December 2019

Is clinical trial transparency under threat?

Last month, HAI and TranspariMED hosted an event in the European Parliament on the issue of clinical trial transparency. The conversation was fruitful – with representatives of the European Commission, the European Medicines…

21 November 2019

An insightful day at the EURIPID stakeholder meeting in Budapest

Research Assistant, Janneke van Oirschot, recently attended a EURIPID Stakeholder meeting in Budapest. Have a go at seeing if you can make sense of this “non-transparent” version of Janneke’s blog…

25 October 2019

Halving snakebite deaths and disabilities by 2030 – How can we reach WHO’s goal?

By Benjamin Waldmann In 2019, estimates suggest that at least 138,000 people will have died and a further 400,000 will be left with permanent disabilities from snakebite. Under-reporting in rural…

10 October 2019

Gender mainstreaming, sustainability and the future of HSA: Partners gather in Kenya for the JAP 2019

Against the backdrop of beautiful Lake Naivasha, members of the Health Systems Advocacy Partnership gathered in Kenya to reflect on past successes, and discuss next steps. The partnership, formed in…

Biased cancer drug trials are only good for one group…and it’s not patients

A new study in The BMJ, partly funded by HAI, found that half of cancer drugs approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) between 2014 and 2016 were based on…

27 September 2019

A Momentous Week for Access to Medicines

by TIM REED, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR This week, in New York, World leaders joined together to adopt a UN Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in what has been billed…

25 September 2019

Working together to end the suffering of pregnant women and families – Photo Essay

A simple complication during pregnancy can lead to devastating consequences for Ugandan families. Preeclampsia affects between 2-8% of pregnant women worldwide. For Ugandan women however, a diagnosis of preeclampsia could…

5 September 2019

Lack of access to ICEMs has disastrous consequences for many. So what’s being done?

This post is part of a two-part series about access to ICEMs. Read about what ICEMs are, and why access is such a problem for so many. In June 2019,…

Access to ICEMs is a fundamental human right, but millions aren’t receiving them

This post is part of a two-part series about access to ICEMs. Read the second part here. It is a scandal of epic proportions that access to internationally controlled essential…

Staff Spotlight: Emma Shiffman

When moving on to a new adventure, it is natural to look back on all the steps you have made to bring you to where you are now. At the…

Civil Society Voice at International Summit to Tackle Global Health Challenge of Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is arguably the biggest global health challenge we will face this century. Many diseases, including pneumonia, tuberculosis and foodborne diseases are increasingly difficult to treat. The prospect of…

Welcome to the new look website!

There’s been some change in the air at the Health Action International offices recently. In the most literal sense, a change of air has brought with it some (much needed)…

Dr Marg Ewen Receives the Helen Clark-JoPPP Award

The winners of the 2019 Helen Clark- JoPPP Award for Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice Research have been announced! We are thrilled that HAI Senior Projects Manager, Marg Ewen, is this…

Staff Spotlight: Jessica Davy

What are three words to describe Health Action International? Impactful, diligent and open-minded. What is the most interesting aspect of your field of expertise? I have so much to learn…

No Universal Health Coverage without Universal Medicines Coverage

By DR TIM REED, Executive Director The theme of this year’s World Health Day (7 April) is Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In our latest blog, HAI Executive Director, Tim Reed, writes…

Our European Projects Highlights for 2018

What would you say if you were asked “what have your highlights been this year”? We’ve had exciting times across all of our areas of work, so to pinpoint particular…

20 December 2018

A Year at the Heart of Regulatory Decision Making

by ANCEL.LA SANTOS, Senior Policy Advisor – Europe It’s that time of year when we reflect on our activities and achievements of the last 12 months. It’s been a busy…

18 December 2018

HAI and Snakebite Programme Partner, James Ashe Antivenom Trust, Applaud Government Action on Antivenom at Bio-Ken Snakebite Symposium

by SABRINA HENNECKE, Assistant Programme Officer (Snakebite) Take away the snakes and the sunburn, and Watamu, Kenya truly does look like paradise. Endless white sand cozies up to a sparkling…

3 December 2018

Staff Spotlight: Sabrina Hennecke

What do you get when you combine curiosity, diligence, ambition and intellect? That’s easy—our Assistant Project Officer for Snakebite, Sabrina Hennecke. In this edition of Health Action International’s ‘Staff Spotlight’,…

23 November 2018

Staff Spotlight: Jaume Vidal

In this edition of #StaffSpotlight, we present Jaume Vidal, a Policy Advisor on Health Action International’s (HAI) European Projects team. When you see Jaume in the office, he’s often teasing…

31 October 2018

Time for a Treaty? ReAct Reports on Second Consultation on Global Development & Stewardship Framework to Combat AMR

by MAARTEN VAN DER HEIJDEN, Policy Associate, ReAct – Action on Antibiotic Resistance Last week, the Second Consultation of Member States and Partners on the Global Development and Stewardship Framework…

11 October 2018

Medicijnen: de link met de maatschappij

Guest blog by FEMKE HEDDEMA, former HAI intern Last week, we held a successful event in The Hague on public health and innovation in the Netherlands. The success of the…

How WHO’s Internship Policy Became More Inclusive

by DR ASHTON BARNETT-VANES It’s been a busy week at HAI, in which we’ve hosted events in the Netherlands (on alternative models of innovation) and the United States (on non-communicable…

28 September 2018

Onze collega gaat terug naar (Utrecht Summer) School

By GABY OOMS, Research Officer Afgelopen week mocht ik na 1,5 jaar weer voor een week achter de schoolbanken schuiven voor het vak ‘pharmaceutical policy analysis’ die werd georganiseerd door…