E-drug: Public heath groups statement to WHO - EB
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Dear Friends,
This week the members of the WHO Executive Board are meeting
in Geneva to discuss a wide spectrum of health issues. Improving
access to essential medicines is high on the agenda. Health Action
International and a number of other NGOs are in Geneva talking
with delegates about access issues and the importance of WHO's
work on increasing access.
Below you will find the formal statement made on access by
Consumers International, HAI, MSF and Oxfam. While I have seen
that MSF posted their statement to the Board, this is the official
statement made by the coalition of NGOs during the EB. It can also
be found on the HAI website at
http://www.haiweb.org
With best wishes,
Lisa Hayes
for HAI Europe
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Statement for the WHO Executive Board, 14 - 21 January 2002
By Consumers International (CI), Health Action International (HAI),
M�decins Sans Fronti�res (MSF), and OXFAM.
We would like to thank you for this opportunity to address the WHO
Executive Board to highlight issues related to WHO's medicines
policy and in particular WHO's work on increasing access to
essential medicines in developing countries.
Next steps for the Model List of Essential Drugs (EDL)
The EDL is one of the most important public health tools. Essential
drugs are those that satisfy the health care needs of the majority of
the population; they should therefore be available at all times in
adequate amounts and in the appropriate dosage forms, and at a
price that individuals and their communities can afford. The
essential drugs concept guides countries as well as non-
governmental organisations (NGOs) in selection of drugs, decisions
about procurement and pricing policies, and rational drug use.
We welcome the revised procedure for updating WHO's Model List
of Essential Drugs as outlined in document EB109/8. The
procedure ensures an independent, transparent, and evidence-
based process for revising the EDL. We would like to stress the
need to ensure the independence of the Expert Committee that
is entrusted with the technical work to draw up the EDL. We
particularly welcome the fact that expensive essential drugs will no
longer be excluded from the list solely because of price.
However, the expansion of the EDL should go hand-in-hand with
measures to ensure that these medicines become affordable for the
individuals and communities who need them most.
Equity pricing
WHO should actively support strategies that lead to equity pricing of
essential medicines. An equity pricing system should include
measures to increase generic competition, differential pricing,
global/regional procurement and distribution, local production
through compulsory or voluntary licensing, and technology transfer.
We would like to warn against unwarranted optimism with regard to
the multinational pharmaceutical industry's willingness to bring drug
prices down. Equity pricing will not be achieved by relying only on
voluntary actions by pharmaceutical companies.
Obtaining up-to-date pricing information is difficult, and negotiating
drug prices with different companies for individual products is time-
consuming. WHO should support the dissemination of drug pricing
information and provide developing countries with support for
across-the-board price negotiations.
MSF will continue to work with the WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF on
providing information on drug prices which is available on the
UNAIDS Web-site.
NGOs welcome the collaboration within the NGO Roundtable
process on development of price monitoring methodology
coordinated by WHO and HAI.
Pre-qualification of low cost medicines
Lower priced versions of new medicines, such as antiretrovirals, are
becoming available on the markets of developing countries, and it is
paramount to assist countries in assuring the quality of these
products. WHO 's work in pre-qualifying medicines needs to be
supported and expanded. This is particularly important with respect
to procurement activities related to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial meeting made it
unambiguously clear that the protection of public health deserves
special treatment in trade regulation. The Doha declaration on
TRIPS and Public Health lays out the options countries have to take
measures when prices of existing patented drugs are too high for
their populations. This year, WHO must, together with other
relevant international organisations, provide practical technical
assistance to make sure that the Doha declaration makes a
difference at the national level. WHO should play an active role at
the TRIPS Council to ensure that countries without production
capacity can procure low-cost medicines elsewhere, and should
provide countries with examples or models of intellectual property
legislation. We offer to work with WHO to make this a reality.
Gap in research and development
It is the international community's responsibility to address the lack
of research and development for neglected diseases, such as
leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness and Chagas' disease, affecting
populations with no purchasing power and no vocal advocacy
groups. Market forces will not stimulate R&D for neglected
diseases. Public/private partnerships alone will not offer solutions
because there is no market incentive. Radical new approaches are
needed to kick-start R&D for neglected diseases, including new
funding mechanisms in areas that are now totally abandoned and
not-for-profit drug development initiatives. WHO clearly must play a
major role, along with governments and donor countries, in setting
an essential R&D agenda and stimulating R&D.
We reiterate our commitment to working with you on these issues
and thank you for your attention.
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