Blogging from the conference on Mobilizing the Private Sector of Global Health Development....C.K. Prahalad, Prof. University of Michigan drops a bombshell at the beginning. " We can save the lives of millions of children in India if we increase the consumption of iodized salt instead and improving health care delivery systems in small ways through small steps with the private sector rather than focusing on making breakthrough medicines affordable. " Using market systems, we can make anti-bacterial salt, iodized salt, water available and affordable and achieve a huge return on health care dollars to obtain a greater quality of life. Innovation in distribution, education, collaboration is perhaps more important. There is a $5 trillion market comprised of people living on less than $3000 per capita using these products. Pharmaceuticals make up about $100 billion (have to check that since I am writing so fast!) Moreover, the poor are upwardly mobile and willing to adopt technologies, they are not Luddites. They can make complex decisions. The poor are NOT too stupid to choose as liberals would believe.
Also: "All those free medicines are not so free. When people go to those public clinics they have to pay for them. Let's be honest. That's an unspoken truth."
I wonder what MSF, Oxfam, etc would say to that?
Also: "All those free medicines are not so free. When people go to those public clinics they have to pay for them. Let's be honest. That's an unspoken truth."
I wonder what MSF, Oxfam, etc would say to that?
