Devex CheckUp: Calls for more oversight at WHO elections after racism scandal

In August 2022, Dr. Takeshi Kasai, who was then head of the WHO’s Western Pacific regional office, was put on administrative leave amid an internal probe over staff accusations of racism and abusive conduct by the senior official. Kasai was eventually fired from his position. In October this year, WHO member states from the region will vote to select their new regional director. Five candidates are vying for the position, and none of them are from Japan or South Korea, breaking a four decadeslong duopoly. That’s not the only position up for a vote. Regional director elections are also taking place for WHO’s Southeast Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions in the same month, prompting over 60 health experts based in different countries globally to issue a letter — seen by Devex — to WHO leadership and its governing bodies, asking for more transparency and greater public scrutiny of the candidates through an online public forum and an open town hall. While geopolitics and vote bargaining will likely continue, they are hopeful this will at least ensure the candidates for the post have the necessary qualifications and prevent another regional leadership scandal from happening. Read: Experts urge more scrutiny of WHO regional elections after racism scandal Background reading: Countries demand answers from WHO amid racism scandal + Do you agree? What do you think can further be done to ensure the next regional director is fit for the job? I would love to hear your thoughts. Send them to me at jennylei.ravelo@devex.com. Fudgy data The COVID-19 pandemic emergency showed how assessments of countries’ health security preparedness can’t predict how well they’ll perform in a crisis. For example, the United States, which scored high on the Global Health Security Index, lost over 1 million people, whereas Morocco, which scored lower on the index, has been celebrated for curbing the number of its COVID-19 deaths — or at least that’s what its own data says. A story for Devex by journalist Jacob Kushner details the kingdom’s swift actions, including in imposing lockdowns and securing COVID-19 vaccines. King Mohamed VI, the country’s ruling monarch, received his first vaccine shot well ahead of the rest of Europe. But the kingdom’s actions came at the cost of civil liberties. One government official said that about 1.5 million people were arrested for violating the lockdown. Newspapers were ordered to cease publication under the guise of preventing the spread of the virus by touch. In addition, one study found that Morocco had significantly undercounted its mortality data. The country claimed 14,800 people died from COVID-19 by the end of 2021, but researchers who compiled mortality data estimate around 157,000 excess deaths. Read: Did Morocco's monarchy outperform democracies against COVID-19? From the archives: Why the world isn’t ready for the next pandemic It’s raining deals The Global Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced that it’s now able to offer a first-line HIV treatment combined in one pill — tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine, and dolutegravir — for under $45 per person per year to governments and Global Fund grant implementers. The new price slashes the treatment’s cost by 25%. In addition, the Stop TB Partnership’s Global Drug Facility has identified two suppliers to provide it with bedaquiline drugs, considered the “backbone” of drug-resistant TB treatments. Indian generics drugmaker Lupin will provide it at a cost of $194, and Johnson & Johnson at $130 for six months of treatment, driving down the cost of drug-resistant TB treatment. The WHO-recommended BPaL regimen for example will now cost $399, a 29% price reduction from $560. Stop TB Partnership and its partners hope this will increase access to treatment for the 450,000 people estimated to suffer from drug-resistant TB globally. The GDF expects savings from the drug price reductions would allow it to reach an additional 50,000 people with drug-resistant TB. At present, only 160,000 people are on DR-TB treatment. Medecins Sans Frontières welcomes the price drop, but insists J&J should withdraw secondary patents on bedaquiline in all TB high-burden countries. If you recall, weeks back J&J announced a deal with GDF, allowing it to supply generic versions of bedaquiline, including to countries where secondary patents of the J&J drug have been approved. GDF next plans to engage with suppliers of the drug pretomanid, which is currently priced at $238, in hopes of further driving down the cost of treatment. But Dr. Lucica Ditiu, who heads the Stop TB Partnership, says the price of diagnostic tests for DR-TB also needs to come down. “You will not find people staying in line and waiting for the treatment for drug-resistant TB, but you will find people with drug-resistant TB that are not diagnosed and therefore they don't even know and they cough around, they die, and spread [the disease],” she says. Background reading: High price excludes patients from better treatment for drug-resistant TB From the archives: The 2 contracts that won the most tuberculosis funding in 2020 (Pro) + Not a Devex Pro member yet? Access all our exclusive reporting and analysis by starting your 15-day free trial today. Remember C-TAP? In a new breakthrough, albeit a little late for the COVID-19 emergency, the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool, or C-TAP, has launched the first licensing deal for a COVID-19 vaccine from a private manufacturer. Taiwanese company Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp. is offering its patent and know-how for its vaccine, which has been administered to date in seven countries. The announcement also includes the Spanish National Research Council sharing a license for a COVID-19 vaccine prototype, and the University of Chile sharing its technology for a COVID-19 diagnostic test. The People’s Vaccine Alliance welcomed the news while calling out Big Pharma for failing to share their vaccine technology to the platform. “We hope that the likes of Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna will reflect on their selfish actions and belatedly join collaborative efforts like C-TAP,” says Julia Kosgei, the alliance’s policy co-lead. A brief trip down memory lane: C-TAP was launched in May 2020 to expand access to tools for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic by voluntarily sharing intellectual property, knowledge, and data. It has secured a couple of licensing deals, but not for a COVID-19 vaccine, which was hugely in demand at the height of the pandemic. Related: WHO's Dr. Mariângela Simão on COVID-19 regrets and unfinished business From the archives: COVID-19 Technology Access Pool secures first licensing agreement What we’re reading Companies are finding loopholes in Mexico’s nutrition labeling rules for unhealthy food. [STAT] Danish company Novo Nordisk is spurring the country’s economic growth with the surge in sales of its obesity drugs. [The New York Times] Pfizer and BioNTech challenge Moderna COVID-19 vaccine patents in the U.S. [Reuters]