Sharing Information

The development of MeTA requires the disclosure, validation and analysis of a core set of data which includes:

medicines registration and quality assurance
the availability of medicines
the price of medicines
the policies and practices concerning the promotion of medicines

Without this information, progress in identifying and tackling the policies and practices which limit access to essential medicines cannot be made.

However, the disclosure of information in the pharmaceutical sector is often minimal. The private sector is sometimes reluctant to share information that might put it at a competitive disadvantage. Disclosure that might expose unethical government practices or bureaucratic and system inefficiencies is often resisted – and might even jeopardise the process as a whole.

The tools in this section therefore provide strategies and methodologies which facilitate the disclosure of this information in a way that all parties find acceptable and helpful – and that maximises the data ‘on the table’ while minimising exposure. This might include incremental disclosure, aggregated information, or limiting those with whom the information is initially shared, with the ultimate aim of making this information available to broader constituencies.

Core Tools:

Additional Tools