Table 3 Challenges to implementation of the WHO Guidelines
From: Medicine donations: a review of policies and practices
Area | Specific issues |
|---|---|
Information management | • Transparent communication between stakeholders • Poor operational oversight • Lack of pharmaceutical product record keeping • Irrelevant and unsolicited donations |
Medication presentation | • Labels of pharmaceuticals written in languages unfamiliar to recipient countries • Limited quality assurance |
Influence from the pharmaceutical industry | • Large-scale donations could distort the global medicine commercial market |
Belief that donations are inherently good | • Perception that there are benefits for recipients in all cases |
Donation sustainability | • Short-term relief efforts are confined to providing assistance in a small window of time • Long-term solutions can encourage recipients to become too dependent on external handouts |