Pharmaceuticals and developing countries: problems and prospects.

For many decades there was little consensus on the nature and type of pharmaceutical policies best suited for developing countries. In the aftermath of the Nairobi Conference on the Rational Use of Drugs and the formulation of criteria by expert groups convened by the World Health Organization a consensus has emerged on many aspects. Infrastructure development and the deployment of trained manpower are now perceived as two of the essential requisites for the implementation of national pharmaceutical policies. The article reviews selected problem areas in the pharmaceuticals sector and proposes strategies to overcome them.