Albania Minister said it can be difficult to measure the pharmaceutical industry’s contribution

Albania Minister said it can be difficult to measure the pharmaceutical industry’s contribution

As the economic burden of chronic diseases continues to grow in Europe, the private sector – including pharmaceutical and insurance companies – needs to contribute more, says the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Europe is the continent which is the most affected by non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases. At the moment, these account for 86% of deaths and 77% of the disease burden in Europe and make up large parts of the overall health expenditure.
But there has to be a balance in public and private contributions, according to the WHO, which is now calling on pharmaceutical companies to dig into their pockets
Ilir Begaj, the Minister of Health in Albania, said it can be difficult to measure the pharmaceutical industry’s contribution to a country’s health sector, saying only that it makes up a large part of his country’s health expenditure.
Still, more than half of the working-age population is not covered by the country’s insurance-based healthcare system twenty years after it was established, Begaj pointed out.
Begaj said he was currently negotiating medicine prices with the pharmaceutical industry, saying generic drugs had become more expensive in Albania than new innovative drugs.
This has caused many Albanians to travel to Greece and Italy to buy their medicines.

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