Support Student Advocacy for Access to Medicines

The excitement around a new year slowly wears off a few days into the year as our daily routine catches up on us. But at UAEM, the excitement kept buzzing, because our busy bees are teeming with life and purpose and motivation to bring about change in the access to medicines movement. New ideas, new projects, new student volunteers, new allies and supporters, we have it all.

The first international gathering brought together our student leaders from the US and Canada, to discuss joint strategies and actions which will further UAEM's missions. At the North America Leadership Meeting, held in Washington during the first weekend of February, theories of change, action plans and project ideas came together and paved the engagement work ahead for our volunteers in North America and Canada. The meeting also saw the participation of Brazilian and European representatives to share startegies and tactics from across the borders, and insights into the different contexts of work. Unsurprisingly, whatever the context, the challenge of access to medicines remains the same - high prices, lack of research and development and of transparency, inequitable access... Access to medicines is truly a global challenge, and UAEMers are ready to take that on by joining forces (and neurones) together.

Coming up in March is a meeting in Rio, Brazil, which will bring together Brazilian students with our new partners - Colombian and Argentinian students who are passionate about making medicines accessible to all in their countries.

The UAEM Europe Conference will also be taking place in April in Hamburg, and students from North America, Latin America and for the first time the region of Africa will be joining to discuss the role of universities when it comes to public research for public needs. Stay tuned for our next story!