Access to a medicine depends on whether a person can obtain an appropriate, quality-assured product at a cost they can bear. Price matters, but so do service availability, reliable supply and the ability to use the product correctly.
Global coverage and financial hardship
WHO’s universal health coverage fact sheet reports the following global indicators. The years differ because service coverage and financial hardship are measured through different datasets.
| Indicator | Reported result | Reference period |
|---|---|---|
| UHC service coverage index | Increased from 54 to 71 | 2000–2023 |
| People not fully covered by essential health services | About 4.6 billion | 2023 |
| People facing financial hardship from health spending | 2.1 billion | 2022 |
| People living in poverty or pushed further into it by out-of-pocket spending | 1.6 billion | 2022 |
The index measures service coverage; it is not a count of medicine packs delivered. Financial-hardship indicators concern household spending. Keeping those units distinct helps a team select a measure that fits the problem it is trying to solve.
Identify the barrier at the point of use
WHO identifies high prices, shortages and substandard or falsified products among obstacles to access. Appropriate use also matters. For a local assessment, start with the person’s route to the service and record where that route breaks down.
A procurement team might examine whether an order was fulfilled. A clinic might examine how often the required product was available when prescribed. A financing team might examine the patient’s payment. These are related questions, but combining them into a single availability score can conceal the action needed.
Connect the measure to a decision
Record the population, time period, product group and service setting before comparing results. Use the same definition in successive reporting periods. A stock-out counted for one presentation or strength should remain identifiable in the underlying data rather than being merged into a general statement about all medicines.
Packaging checks support this work when a received unit has damaged closures, unreadable identification or incorrect contents. See Packaging and medicine availability for those checks. The health-system governance guide explains how to assign responsibility across the organisations involved.