One consideration worth examining is the historically complex dynamic between MSF and organizations such as GAVI. A revealing example was when MSF launched an advocacy campaign that prompted a critical response from Bill Gates, who as a major GAVI funder voiced concerns about MSF’s approach:
> “I think there is an organisation that’s wonderful in every other respect, but every time we raise money to save poor children’s lives, they put out a press release that says the price of these things should be zero”. He said that criticizing pharmaceutical company pricing deterred them from investing in medicines for the developing world, and said that instead, pharmaceutical companies should be praised for price descrimination: “We get a great price for these things, which is tiered pricing… And that’s how we manage to cut childhood death in half”. [1]
For anyone curious about this debate, I’d recommend reading the full article.
I don’t think Bill’s statement there is particularly fair—MSF aren’t pushing for the price to be “zero”, they pushing for reduced profit margins since the tiered pricing doesn’t go far enough.
I’d like to see more evidence of this deterrence effect beyond statements by Bill Gates who has a history of controversy over his business practices.
One consideration worth examining is the historically complex dynamic between MSF and organizations such as GAVI. A revealing example was when MSF launched an advocacy campaign that prompted a critical response from Bill Gates, who as a major GAVI funder voiced concerns about MSF’s approach:
For anyone curious about this debate, I’d recommend reading the full article.
Citing from wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAVI
Which cites from: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jan/27/bill-gates-dismisses-criticism-of-high-prices-for-vaccines
I don’t think Bill’s statement there is particularly fair—MSF aren’t pushing for the price to be “zero”, they pushing for reduced profit margins since the tiered pricing doesn’t go far enough.
I’d like to see more evidence of this deterrence effect beyond statements by Bill Gates who has a history of controversy over his business practices.