Central African Republic

The Central African Republic (CAR) is one of the least developed countries in the world, ranked 179th of 182 on the UN's Human Development Index. This comes after decades of dictatorial rule and high rates of corruption, even after democracy was installed in 1993. Health indicators are among the worst in the world. The violence between rebel groups and the government have made the coordination of health care next to impossible.

Provision is also hampered by a lack of funding - health care accounts for only 1.7% of GDP which results in a lack of staff and facilities. Access to the most basic of medicines is extremely difficult. There is also a severe problem with counterfeit and substandard medicines.

Importing medicines is extremely costly and bureaucratic - the country was ranked third from bottom on the World Bank's Doing Business 2010 report, indicating relatively high costs of import. Pharmaceutical imports have to pay a 5% tariff and an additional 19% tax.