The Access to Medicine Index (AtMI) is an instrument that measures the performance of the 20 biggest pharmaceutical TNCs in terms of how they contribute to improving access to medicines and other products in L&MICs. This measure is used to rank the corporations which is expected to incentivise pharma companies to compete with each other by improving their policies and practices to improve access to medicines in L&MICs.
The AtMI is well funded and generally celebrated as a successful initiative that catalyses corporate social responsibility and helps improve global health.
But is the AtMI really effective? Or does it actually serve to maintain the power and excessive profitability of Big Pharma?
A discussion was held on 17 October to critically interrogate the use of the "league table" as an accountability mechanism to improve access to medicines, and explore why such mechanisms might paradoxically weaken efforts to regulate pharmaceutical companies.
Revisit the webinar here: https://go.unu.edu/a4VE2