Access 2 Medicines Week Guide: North America
Join us for Access 2 Medicines Week!
October 23 - 27, 2023
This week is all about raising awareness about the inconsistencies and inequalities present within the prescription drugs and essential medicines market globally. We at the UAEM North American Coordinating Committee want to make sure that we start the school year off by giving chapters stress-free, tangible actions to execute in order to achieve the aforementioned goal and making sure to create a strong line of communication between the Coordinating Committee and the chapters.
Action #1: “Tabling Tuesday/Thursday”
Overview
Ask campus passerby for a conversation over a food and/or beverage (that chapters provide to them for free) surrounding the access to medicines movement
Logistics
When: Conduct the tabling on a day that feels fits with the most amount of members’ schedules as possible (ideally do Tuesday 10/24 or Thursday 10/26)
Cost: Purchase a large case of brewed coffee and/or a couple dozen donuts and/or any other food or beverage item you see fit and offer passerby on campus a free cup of coffee/donut/other if they engage in a conversation with you about access to medicines
Potential topics for discussion
How much money pharmaceutical companies spend on marketing vs. research and development
What UAEM does and what we’ve done in the past
March-in Rights
KEY POINT
Make sure to get their email address to receive updates from your respective UAEM chapter! Sample sign up sheet here.
Action #2: “Wear-your-swag Wednesday” + “Window-Washing Wednesday”
Overview
Window-washing is a creative action on the idea of clinical trial “transparency.” But, choose your target wisely, and you do not want to cause any damage. Would you want to wash the windows of your TTO office? Your university president’s office?
Wear your UAEM Swag and go get’em!!
Logistics:
You’ll need:
Buckets of soapy water/ access to a tap
Sponges
Something to dry the window
Posters, signs, or another means of making the transparency message clear
Equipment to film or photograph the event:
(Optional): Make an Instagram reel out of the creative action and tag @uaem_org
Other important considerations:
People might be worried about causing damage: be careful by using soft sponges, and move to other windows if someone is worried.
If it’s too cold to get wet: try to pick a day that’s not too cold, or take turns and wear gloves in-between.
This probably would require more manpower than some of the other stunts
Action #3: “Flash Mob Friday”
Overview
Chapters will post 2 social media posts about Access to Medicines. One will be done in the morning and the other will be done in the late afternoon/early evening. The times are up to the chapters to decide. However, every member in the chapter must post at the exact same time.
Ex: A chapter must all post one graphic at 10AM and the other at 4PM.
Logistics
When: Friday, 10/27 @ 2 times of each chapter’s choosing
Cost: None
The CC will email graphics to all the chapters by Monday 10/23
