MMV delivers statement at 140th session of the WHO Executive Board
At the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2016, resolution WHA69.23 urged Member States and the Director General to take action in response to concern about the significant gap in funding the strategic workplan and the development of the Global Heath Observatory in R&D, endorsed in resolution WHA66.22.
This week at the 140th session of the WHO Executive Board, the WHO Secretariat presented a report, in response to requests made by the Health Assembly in resolution WHA69.23 (2016), and in line with the work of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Access to Medicines. This report mentioned terms of reference and a costed workplan of the Global Observatory on Health Research and Development; a proposal with goals and an operational plan for a voluntary pooled fund to support research and development; and terms of reference for a WHO Expert Committee on Health Research and Development (EB 140/21 and EB140/22).
MMV delivered a statement on the CEWG Progress and the Global Observatory on R&D (Follow-up of the report of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination). The statement was issued in collaboration with TB Alliance and PATH and was delivered by Sylvie Fonteilles Drabek, EVP Head of Legal at MMV.
Statement:
Honorable Members of the Executive Board,
Medicines for Malaria Venture would like to thank you for the opportunity to address this Agenda Item. Our statement is supported by PATH and TB Alliance.
Our organizations have considerable experience in the development, scale-up and delivery of life-saving vaccines, drugs, diagnostics and devices. Together, we currently have over 110 health technologies in our pipelines addressing a multitude of poverty-related and neglected diseases and conditions.
We applaud the work of the CEWG, the Secretariat, Member States and the Director-General in prioritizing R&D to save lives and strengthen health systems around the world.
We welcome the steps made in expanding the Global Health R&D Observatory. We encourage Member States to fully fund it. This will enable the Observatory to accomplish its mission to provide critical evidence to guide global R&D priorities. We encourage the Observatory to address data gaps and be careful to not duplicate existing and successful efforts.
We support the establishment of the voluntary pooled fund to generate new investment. As far as possible, the fund should not encourage the reallocation of existing resources and likewise, should not duplicate other funding mechanisms.
We recommend the fund be transparently governed by an independent and non-political body. We also recommend that organizations with global health expertise, including international organizations, academia, industry and civil society, be engaged throughout the development and implementation of the funding mechanism.
Finally, as organizations committed to equitable access to medicines, we are glad to see continued commitment to the core principle of affordability for products developed.
Thank you.