Objects
• To empower the consumer with special emphasis on policies of the government with regard to medicines and health and to promote the Essential Medicine concept, that fewer than 372 medicines are necessary to treat more than 90% of health problems requiring medicines.
• To promote the rational use of medicines that all medicines marketed should meet real medical needs, have therapeutic advantage, be acceptably safe and offer value for money.
• For better controls on drug promotion and the provision of balanced, independent information for prescribers and consumers.
• To campaign for Health for All, as human right objective.
Background
Drug Action Forum–Karnataka (DAF-K) is a collectively initiative when few doctors working in rural areas (for all round development) realized that often poor people sell a valuable item in the house (like a chicken or goat) to buy a useless medicine (like tonic) hoping that they will be cured of illness. Soon it took no time to realize that the intentions of the drug industry were to make only profit, often at the cost of people’s health.
Do You Know ?
1. That there are only 372 drugs in World Health Organization’s list of Essential Drugs. Where as the Indian drug market is flooded with around 80,000 formulations.
2. Vast number of these medicines are useless and some even harmful.
3. The drug policy of our country is prepared by ministry of petroleum & chemicals & commerce ministry.
Activities
- Hepatitis-B Vaccination Misleading Policy and Promotion:
- Study of Pain Killers (Analgesics & Antipyretics and NSAIDS) listed in a commercial publication for doctor's use:
- Patents and access to medicines:
- “DAF-K” award:
Myth of Polio Eradiction
This is in response to the article, ‘Polio Eradication: A Misplaced Approach?' by Vijayakumar K and Biju George (December 25, 2004). The authors have raised some important questions with regard to the Polio Eradication Initiative in India launched in the country in 1995. Without stating it in so many words, the authors have admitted to the failure of the eradication strategy for not having achieved its stated goal of ‘zero polio' status. They then go on to suggest the “urgent stoppage of PPI in India as a whole” and institute a regional approach in conducting National Immunisation Days (NIDs). More>>>
Hepatitis- B Controversies
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Kolkatta Declaration
The National Seminar on Pharmaceutical Policy and Access to Essential Medicines organised by Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives’ Associations of India, National Campaign Committee for Drug Policy and All India Drug Action Network and supported by the World Health Organisation, India country office discussed different aspects of the country’s pharmaceutical policy. The seminar was attended by one hundred and twenty eight activists, academics and experts from all parts of the country that deliberated on different issues related to the pharmaceutical sector in India. More>>>