Tiny investment needed for universal access to basic drugs - study

PARIS: An investment of just $1-2 (0.90-1.80 euros) per person per month could give all people in low- and middle-income countries access to a basket of 201 essential medicines, researchers said Monday.

One in five countries spend less than this amount on medicine -- highlighting "the urgent need for additional financing to meet basic health care needs," said a special publication by The Lancet medical journal.