WHO calls for better access to medical devices in poor nations

Too many people are missing out on the potential benefits of medical devices, says a report from the World Health Organization. A rigorous assessment of public health needs that is based on prioritisation and evidence is needed to help deliver lifesaving medical devices to poor nations, it says.

Margaret Chan, WHO’s director general, told a global forum in Bangkok on 9 September: “The unquestionable benefits of medical devices are unevenly and unfairly distributed.” The situation “illustrates profoundly the great difference in the ability of wealthy and developing countries to reap the benefits of advances in medicine and technology,” she added.

A recent WHO survey, which collected data from …