Advocates welcomed a resolution passed in the 74th World Health Assembly calling for strengthening local production of medical technologies led by Ethiopia. But its success will depend on a number of factors, and there remain questions on some of the aims of the resolution.
Sign up for Devex CheckUp
The must-read weekly newsletter for exclusive global health news and insider insights.
“It’s a landmark resolution for a number of reasons,” said Jaume Vidal, senior policy adviser for Health Action International.
The resolution responds to global “structural imbalances” in pharmaceutical manufacturing and includes “explicit references” to use the COVID-19 Technologies Access Pool or C-TAP as a “valid instrument to enhance technology transfer and scale-up production of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics,” he said.
“An open question remains in relation [to] what ‘new global platforms’ the resolution envisions to promote technology transfer.”
— Thiru Balasubramaniam, Geneva representative, Knowledge Ecology InternationalThe resolution would also strengthen the World Health Organization’s role in helping countries improve their regulatory systems and facilitate WHO prequalification, said Thiru Balasubramaniam, Geneva representative for Knowledge Ecology International.
But the resolution itself will depend on WHO member states’ political will — particularly large donors, as it may need extra-budgetary spending to implement — and the regulatory capabilities of regional and sub-regional entities to be effective, said Vidal.
He added that its success or failure would also depend on how the resolution will combine with WHO-led initiatives such as C-TAP or initiatives in which WHO plays a role, such as Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, or ACT-A. C-TAP has been in place for one year but continues to struggle to gain traction. ACT-A also continues to struggle with funding.
“An open question remains in relation [to] what ‘new global platforms’ the resolution envisions to promote technology transfer,” said Balasubramaniam.
Rethinking supply chains for vaccines and other health products
Prashant Yadav calls for a focus on systems-level — not just verticalized, interventions —in a conversation with Agnes Binagwaho, vice chancellor at the University of Global Health Equity in a Devex event at the World Health Assembly.
The resolution requests the WHO director-general to “leverage existing and, if needed, establish new global platforms to promote transfer of technology on voluntary and mutually agreed terms and in line with international obligations and local production under North–South and South–South cooperation.”
It’s also unclear how the resolution and the intentions of European countries such as France and Germany to support the creation of pharmaceutical manufacturing hubs in Africa will be coordinated, Vidal said.
“Overall, this is an important step in the right direction, but as on other occasions, the global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation, and intellectual property springs to mind, we will be watching to ensure good intentions become reality, as too often in Geneva, hefty words do not travel well,” he added.
WHO will need $69.54 million to implement the resolution from now to 2030. WHO already has a resource gap of $4.60 million to implement it for 2021.