Statement |

MSF statement at 71st WHA: Global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property

Speaker: Baher Mohamed

71st World Health Assembly - Agenda item 11.6: Global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property

MSF welcomes increased attention from WHO and Member States to ensuring that medical R&D effectively prioritizes people’s health needs globally, and delivers health tools that are affordable, available, and adapted to the health systems in which they are to be deployed. However, although it was adopted nearly 10 years ago, WHO and Member States have not done enough to deliver on the global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property (the GSPOA). Urgent work is needed to promote new thinking in innovation and access to medicines.

There is growing recognition that inadequate access to medicines and the failures of the global R&D system are crises of global concern. The expert review panel evaluation of the GSPOA provides an opportunity to channel this momentum and growing commitment into tangible, lifesaving outcomes for people in need.

MSF urges Member States to take action and to endorse the recommendations of the GSPOA expert review panel. Member States should ensure the WHO Secretariat has a clear mandate to draft a GSPOA implementation plan for publication in 2018, including a monitoring mechanism and annual accountability report as suggested by the expert review panel. Member States should also ensure there are clear funding commitments within the General Programme of Work 2019-2023 that allow the plan to be fully implemented.

A full list of briefing documents and interventions for the 71st WHA can be found here.