Medical devices out of reach of poor, WHO study finds

Sep 9, 2010, 5:48 GMT

Bangkok - Medical devices, some of which make the difference between life and death, are often unavailable in developing countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday, calling the distribution 'unfair.'

Revenues from medical device sales worldwide amounted to 210 billion dollars in 2008, of which four-fifths were earned in the Americas and Europe, a WHO study found.

The WHO released the study during a forum in Bangkok of Asian health experts that the UN agency called to discuss how developing countries could get better access to such equipment.

'We are holding this forum because the unquestionable benefits of medical devices are so unevenly and unfairly distributed,' WHO Director General Margaret Chan said.

An estimated 10,500 types of medical device are on the market, ranging from high-tech diagnostic and therapeutic equipment to simple devices that improve the lives of millions, such as wheelchairs, hearing aids, eyeglasses, pacemakers and prostheses.

According to a survey conducted by the WHO, the average availability of computed tomography, or CT, scanners is one per 64,900 people in high-income countries but one per 3.5 million people in low-income countries.

Ten developing countries have no radiotherapy unit at all, depriving almost 100 million people of access to cancer treatment, it said.

Low public expenditures on health is a leading challenge.

'This, in turn, leads to inadequate investment in all forms of medical devices: in some countries, shortages of needles, syringes, and sterilizing equipment mean that up to 40 per cent of injections are unsafe,' the WHO study said.

Another challenge is the lack of medical infrastructure. 'In many areas, devices are not used to full effect because of erratic power supplies, uncertain water quality, a shortage of health personnel, limited training capacity, difficulties in getting spare parts, and poor or inadequate maintenance,' the sturdy found.

The study recommended the use of technologies that use alternative power supplies; resist heat, humidity, and dust; relieve workloads; require little maintenance; and can be operated, with no risk to patient safety by personnel with little specialized training.