Generic Drug Position Paper Research

Think about the need to support further innovation, and simultaneously increase availability of existing medicines at affordable prices.

Links

Country Health Information

Access to Medicine

General Country Information

Health Index

Intellectual Property

Prescription Price Index

Doctors Without Borders Campaign

FDA - Generic Drugs

Tips

Understand the process of drug research and development (cost, time, energy)

Find a balance between access to medicine and encouraging R&D (research and development)

Only include information that is relevant

Come up with a practical recommendation or solution that applies to your country, but can also be expanded to other countries

Questions to consider

Is your country known for being a more wealthy country or a more impoverished country?

Does your country produce a lot of name brand drugs, how about generic drugs? Which does it produce more of? What is the status of any patents your country may have?

Is there a pharmaceutical lobbyist in your country?

Is there a lot of research and development of drugs in your country?

What are some examples of brand name or generic drugs that are made or commonly used in your country?

What are some of the major illnesses that affect your country? Are they communicable or non-communicable? Are drugs commonly and effectively used to combat them?

How is your country involved with WHO?

Who are some of the big players (countries) involved in generic drugs? What opinions would you expect them to have?

What are some other countries that may have an effect on your country?

Is it difficult for people to afford drugs in your country? How about the ones they really need? How much do these drugs cost compared to how much money the average person in your country lives off of daily?

Why is generic drugs an important topic to the United Nations (and to the world in general)?

Why is the topic of generic drugs important to your country, specifically?

What are the actions your country has taken on a nation level to address the problem?

What are the actions your country has taken on an international level to address the problem?

What are the recommendations for WHO, which will be what you want to see in the resolutions at the end of the debate?

Documents

Intro to Generic Drugs

More About Generic Drugs

Research and Development Process

Drug Approval Process

Videos

Understanding Your Country and the Topic of Generic Drugs Assignment (Group 3A)

*THIS ASSIGNMENT IS FOR GROUP 3A ONLY!

At this point, I have reassigned you all partners and new countries. Thank you all for completing the opening speech assignment in class. I will grade these and give them back to you next Thursday. From this point on, we will be leaving the political role of women topic behind and begin the topic of generic drugs (which you will be doing in your new pairs and with your new countries). That being said, I need to give you an assignment to complete and turn in to me next Thursday (you may give it to me in either English or Social Science class). The assignment is a two-part assignment, and you only have to turn in one copy per pair. Thus, I recommend that one person complete the first part of the assignment and that the other partner complete the second part of the assignment.

Part One: The Country Profile

1. Visit The World Factbook website

2. Select your country from the drop-down menu

3. Click on "Introduction" and read the background information about your country

4. On another piece of paper, paraphrase this information in your own words

5. Open up the Country Profile Document and fill out all the information using The World Factbook website (you may print this sheet and fill it out or copy all the information on a separate piece of paper)

Part Two: Understanding Generic Drugs

1. Open the All About Generic Drugs document

2. Open the Understanding Generic Drugs worksheet

3. Read the "All about Generic Drugs" document, and as you do so, you will be answering the questions that are written on the "Understanding Generic Drugs" worksheet (write all of the answers in complete sentences and on a separate piece of paper)

*Also, note that the questions are in order of where you can find the answers in the "All About Generic Drugs" document (i.e. the answer to the first question can be found in the first part of the document and the answer to the last question can be found in the last part of the document)

After completing this assignment, share what you have found with your partner. The point is to have a basic understanding of your country and the generic drug topic so that we can start having discussions about this next class. Good luck, and as always, you may leave a comment below if you have any questions!

Opening Speech

Opening Speech Outline

Flow of Debate

Here are some videos to help you with the flow of debate procedure.

Questions for Opening Speech

Do not forget to have these questions answered for next week. Each question should be answered with about 3-4 sentences. If you do this, then writing your opening speech will be very easy.

1. Why is the political role of women important to the United Nations (and to the world in general)?

2. Why is the political role of women important to your country, specifically?

3. What are the statistics that illustrate the problem in your country?

4. How does the issue of the political role of women affect your country?

5. What are the actions your country has taken on a nation level to address the problem?

6. What are the actions your country has taken on an international level to address the problem?

7. What are the recommendations for the committee, which will be what you want to see in the resolutions at the end of the debate?

Political Role of Women Position Paper Reminders

Add yourself to the Global Classrooms group on the IES Doctor Marañón social network to have access to even more resources (you will find more sample position papers and a grading rubric among other great things):

IES DM Social Network

Find useful facts and statistics at the World Economic Forum website:

Facts and Statistics

If you find any really useful websites, share them with your classmates.
Finally, don't forgot to ask questions and use all the resources that we have given you. Good luck!