Medicines are a basic element in the provision of health. However, the high cost of some medications is hindering the stability of healthcare systems regardless the level of income of countries. Governments are addressing this problem by prioritising health in their national and foreign policies. At the supranational level, regional organisations have been fora for creating action plans, disseminating and sharing information as well as generating capacity building. Consequently, they have

more »

... y become fundamental to the successful promotion of sustainable pharmaceutical policies. This working paper assesses the effectiveness of the implementation of pharmaceutical policies undertaken by UNASUR and the EU under the universal access to medicines framework generated by the WHO, by looking at the conditions of willingness, acceptance and capacity of these regional organisations. Results show that engagement in international forums is encouraging positive outcomes in the formulation of regional pharmaceutical policies for improving access to medicines based on the globally-accepted frameworks. Moreover, regional organisations have turned out to be the most effective space for the promotion and implementation of such national pharmaceutical policies, as these are prone to be accepted with less opposition in each nation when a regional organisation backs them up.