Bamako Initiative

The Bamako Initiative was a formal statement adopted by African health ministers in 1987 in Bamako, Mali, to implement strategies designed to increase the availability of essential drugs and other healthcare services for Sub-Saharan Africans.
The idea as proposed by UNICEF's executive director, James P. Grant, was for UNICEF and other donors to supply drugs to countries which would be sold a little above cost. The profits from these sales would be used to buy more drugs in a self-sustaining way. By 1988, 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa were making plans.
A Health Policy and Planning article by Hardon describes the initiative as follows:

Measures

The Bamako Initiative proposed decentralising health decision making to local levels and establishing realistic national drug policies to enhance the provision of essential drugs for Sub-Saharan Africans.

Challenges

There were several problems with the initiative such as discrimination against the poorest, a national health care dependent on the sale of drugs, and the requirement of foreign currency to import drugs versus an income in local currency. Health [Action International] an NGO working in health policy started discussion forums around the continent to encourage discussion and address these and other issues with the initiative.