Policy brief: Strengthening pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies

Introduction

Ensuring affordable access to medicines is a critical component of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Effective implementation of fair pricing and reimbursement policies has a direct impact on three core guiding principles of the Africa Health Strategy (2016–2030): Health as a human right, equity in health access and effectiveness and efficiency of health systems and its strategic objective of achieving UHC in Africa by 2030.This policy brief presents good practices in pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies identified in Ghana, Rwanda and Senegal. Countries that are recently making significant strides in reforming their policies to improve equitable access to health products. The countries were selected amongst MAV+ frontrunner countries. Findings are based on desk research and interviews with key stakeholders during in-country visits late 2024 – early 2025 by Quentin Baglione (Aedes) and Laura Moreno Reyes (TESS). Pricing and reimbursement policies are defined at national level. The WHO has drafted guidelines on country pharmaceutical pricing policies in 2020. These were used as a framework for this brief.