Band 4+: Many people in poor countries die from diseases that are curable because they cannot afford the medication required. Do you believe that drug companies should make their products available at reduced prices in these countries? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

Nowadays, lots of people in Third World countries still die from non-lethal diseases due to the lack of the affordable medication. It looks like the millions human beings can’t allow themselves to live, while pharma corporations making huge fortune. There is a fair point, that drug companies should make their products cheaper for citizens from this areas, but I tend to simultaneously agree and disagree with this opinion, and, in this essay, I’ll elaborate on this.

Firstly, undoubtably, the drugs and medical devices production is not just a business today, this work is essential for global population and imposes a great responsibility for dissemination and use of this kind of goods. It is not enough to invent, produce and sell the cure, it should be applied where it is need. As the experience with COVID19 had shown, manufacturers of medicines have an ability to make commitments to help provide free vaccines in emergency situations, even though, in that case, they was supported by governments and private foundations. Apart from that, it’s not a secret that big pharma companies are earnings enormous amounts of money annually and can afford vast costs for advertisement, charity, loss of damaged products, let alone discounts for consumers. Hence, it is not impossible for them to allocate a budget for settlement price policy for patients in poor countries.

However, I believe that things are not so easy. If we imagine that cures prices really do come down for population of low-income countries, it probably won’t solve their problems, because the pills should be provided by someone inside of destination. Nevertheless, the economical situation in this realms are not so regulated as in Europe, for instance, consequently, unscrupulous sellers or corrupted local authorities might take an advantage of the situation and make benefits from the difference of buying and selling. Thus, reducing prices of the medications, definitely, must be accompanied by changes in local conditions of dissemination.

To summarise, it is clear that people shouldn’t die just because they are financially unsecured, and, as I’m sure, drug companies have enough resources and responsibility to have an impact on this issue by dropping the prices on their commodities. Nonetheless, there are more comprehensive solutions is needed to really change something.