The human right to essential medicines applies to Canadians

摘要

Poor access to medicines for more than a million Canadians is more than a health risk and an economic burden, it is a rights violation. The Sustainable Development Goal for health underscores the link between access to needed or essential medicines, social determinants of health such as food and shelter, and poverty reduction.1 Canada’s current pharmaceutical policy provides care and pharmaceuticals free of charge for inpatients, while outpatient prescription medicines are provided through a patchwork of public and private drug plans that leave many paying for medicines themselves. Twenty percent of Canadians (up to 7.5 million people) are uninsured or underinsured and pay for most of their prescription medicine costs out of pocket.2,3 In 2016, 1 million Canadians reported having to choose between purchasing food and heat or a needed prescription.2,3 These challenges are exacerbated in the era of coronavirus disease 2019, where 3 million Canadians have now lost jobs and outpatient medicine access is tied to employment (both for those with private insurance from an employer and those who pay for medicines themselves).