Letter |

MSF letter to WHO member states in the run up to the Ministerial Summit on Health Research

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TRADE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
ACCESS_letter_MSFtoWHO_HealthResearchMexico_ENG_2004.pdf

MSF letter to WHO member states in the run up to the Ministerial Summit on Health Research, Mexico City, 16-20 November 2004

Dear Sir/Madam,

As you know, the Ministerial Summit on Health Research will take place in Mexico on 16-20 November 2004. The theme of the summit is Bridging the Know-Do Divide to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) believes that this summit offers a unique opportunity to re-examine the ways in which priorities in medicines research and development are set and the ways in which such R&D is financed.

The MDGs set ambitious targets for health, including:

  • Reducing child mortality;

  • Improving maternal health; and

  • Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other neglected diseases. MSF is concerned that these goals will not be met using the tools presently at the disposal of health workers.

However, health research and development to address the needs of people in developing countries has almost come to a standstill.

Urgent action is needed to ensure that new essential medicines, vaccines and diagnostics are developed and become available at prices affordable to people in developing countries.