Countless innocent
lives
have perished in third-world countries every day. Common diseases that can be remedied are taking away
lives
due to
the fact that these people are unable to afford the
drugs
they require. In my essay, I will delve into why I believe that pharmaceutical
companies
should reduce their
price
tag for
drugs
being sold to poorer
nations
and provide my explanations for them.
To begin
, citizens of poor countries are dying at an alarming rate
due to
curable diseases. These common diseases, like flu, are curable by simple medication which is how people of richer countries deal with them on a day-to-day basis. The
price
of
drugs
makes even the most common disease seem like a death sentence.
However
, despite
this
sad plight, no action has been taken by these large multinational pharmaceutical
companies
to reduce the
price
of
drugs
that are being supplied to those poorer
nations
due to
the fear of negative financial implications.
For example
, it is reported by Fox News that the American company Pfizer has refused to reduce the
price
as they are concerned with their share prices at the stock market if their products are associated with cheap rates.
Adding on, I believe, that at the heart of a pharmaceutical corporation, helping people should be helm as an utmost priority above profits. Allowing their drug products to be sold cheaper, will help save many millions of
lives
. As a bonus,
this
action will most certainly help build their reputation status.
For instance
, in 2008, a pilot project led by Singaporean drug company, Reddot, sold their
drugs
at an incredible discount of 90%, to poorer
nations
like Senegal and Tongo to aid them fight off their mosquito season which took away half a million
lives
in the previous year.
This
project, received applause from various governments across the globe, especially in the home country of Singapore, which injected one million dollars into the company as an amount to pledge to support the project.
In conclusion, I believe that
lives
are more important than profit margins for
companies
that are afraid of being labelled cheap. Reduced rates of selling
drugs
, especially to those who really need them is vital in saving
lives
.
Therefore
, I encourage all drug
companies
across the world to step in and save
lives
, especially those in poorer
nations
.