SDG indicator 3.b.3 – an analysis of its robustness and challenges for measuring access to medicines for children

Table 1 Overview of parameters and variations across scenarios

				Expected effect compared to base case
Scenario	DB	NPL	NUNT	on affordability	on facility scores
A (base case)	GHE code 370 for antibacterials; DB of medicines used for the same disease counted multiple times	$1.90	Standard	NA	NA
B	GHE code 370 for antibacterials; DB of medicines used for the same disease divided by number of medicines	$1.90	Standard	No effect	Variable^c
C^a	GHE code 20 for antibacterials; DB of medicines used for the same disease counted multiple times	$1.90	Standard	No effect	Variable^c
D	GHE code 20 for antibacterials; DB of medicines used for the same disease divided by number of medicines	$1.90	Standard	No effect	Variable^c
E^b	No DB weighting applied	$1.90	Standard	No effect	Variable^c
F	As scenario A	$3.20	Standard	Decrease	Decrease
G	As scenario A	$5.50	Standard	Decrease	Decrease
H	As scenario A	$1.90	Minimum	Increase	Increase
I	As scenario A	$1.90	Maximum	Decrease	Decrease
J	As scenario A	$5.50	Minimum	Decrease^d	Decrease^d
K	As scenario A	$5.50	Maximum	Decrease^e	Decrease^e

DB Disease Burden, NA Not available, NPL National Poverty Line, NUNT Number of Units Needed for Treatment, GHE Global Health Estimates
^aScenario C is equivalent to the weighing system used in the main SDG indicator 3.b.3 methodology
^bNo DB weighting translates to equal weights for all medicines
^cEffect (increase/decrease) depends on patterns in underlying data, e.g. which medicines are accessible
^dExpected to increase compared to scenario G
^eExpected to decrease compared to scenario G

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