The Working Group members agreed on the following recommendations:

1. Member Countries should strengthen national and local drug financing schemes to ensure equity and access (availability and affordability) to essential drugs.

2. The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance (Treasury, other relevant ministries), has the obligation to ensure adequate financing for essential drugs to meet the basic needs of the population.

3. If cost-sharing is introduced, revenues should be used to supplement government allocations for health and drug financing, and not as a substitute for government financing of health and essential drugs.

4. Financial and other economic mechanisms to promote rational use of drugs should be identified.

5. The Ministry of Health should explore ways to achieve optimal public and private financing of health and drugs, in order to achieve equity of access and quality of care.

6. If cost-sharing is introduced, policy and guidelines should be formulated by the Ministry of Health to define the objectives, responsibilities, and method of operation for the cost-sharing scheme.

7. Appropriate pricing policies should be formulated by the government to ensure that prices of drugs, especially essential drugs, are affordable for the majority of the population.

Next Meeting: Yogyakarta, Indonesia in November 1997.