E-drug: Public-private 'partnerships' at WHO
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Dear Readers,
The debate about WHO's growing collaboration with the private sector has
been a primary focus this week at the WHA. While the guidelines on working
with the private sector for health outcomes are not on the official agenda,
the fact that growing voluntary contributions continue to climb and the
fact that the Director General used the term 'partnership' more than ten
times in her address to delegates show that there is more and more
acceptance to this way of doing business.
On Thursday, HAI sponsored a meeting to examine the issue more closely
featuring speakers Judith Richter (consultant on the politics of health),
Mohga Smith of Oxfam and Andy Gray (School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology,
University of Durban/Westville, South Africa). The speakers highlighted
concerns about WHO's growing dependence on the private sector and the
strong possibilities for conflict of interest.
Judith sketched a picture of how WHO has slowly shifted its strategy to
incorporate (and accommodate) the private sector in more and more of its
work.
Mohga described critically some of the current partnerships announced to
help improve access to essential medicines and pointed out that most are
really drug donations or price cuts that do not offer a sustainable
solution to the problem.
Andy used the fluconazole donation to South Africa as a case study on the
hidden costs and problems tied to such unrequested, company-led
'partnerships'.
During the discussion it became clear that the Executive Board's call for
an electronic working group to improve the guidelines for working with the
private sector has not been taken up by WHO.
HAI had requested WHO to co-sponsor the meeting months ago, and the request
was denied. HAI also asked two senior staff members to attend the meeting,
one who has been orchestrating the guidelines discussion and the other a
member of the resource mobilisation unit. We were told that their busy
schedules prevented them from attending and sharing WHO's current vision on
'partnerships'. While WHO had no official role in the meeting, it was
attended by approximately nine WHO staff members.
The guidelines are now in effect and HAI has been told that they are not
perfect, but adequate to address possible conflicts of interest.
Interestingly, while here at the Assembly, we noted a member of WHO's staff
(from the Dept. of Organisation of Health Services Delivery) casually
wearing a shoulder bag with LILLY prominently displayed across it while she
typed away at a computer in the public cafe outside the Committee room.
Such blatant disregard for the possible conflict of interest such a bag
signals makes us wonder how well the staff has been informed about the
guidelines and their role in protecting WHO's integrity.
We will be publishing more about the HAI briefing session as well as
following the developments on the global AIDS and health fund shortly.
Best wishes,
Lisa Hayes
HAI Europe
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