Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health
Brazzaville, 6 September 2007 -- Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights in the WHO African Region was the theme of a consultative meeting that took place in Brazzaville, Congo from 3 to 5 September.
The three-day meeting aimed to help Member States to build their capacity for enhanced understanding, in their respective contexts, of issues related to Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health and their impact on medicines access. The meeting aimed also to help Member States to contribute effectively towards finalizing the draft global strategy and plan of action that will be presented to the second Intergovernmental Working Group meeting scheduled for November 2007.
At the opening ceremony, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Gomes Sambo reminded participants that 50% of people in the African Region have no access to essential medicines and that inadequacy of human resources, which was one of the dominant topics discussed at the 57th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africam, will continue to be one of the greatest challenges in the Region.
Dr Sambo used the occasion to emphasize that the African Region are immense public health challenges characterized by fragmentation of health systems, insufficient human and financial resources and limited access to appropriate technonogies needed to boost proven health interventions.
The Regional Director reminded the participants that the Intergovermental Working Group is led by Member States. He encouraged participants to make effective use of the forum to contribute to the developpment of the global strategy and plan of action to be submitted to the 61st World Health Assembly in May 2008.
The meeting brought together 41 delegations from the 46 Member States of the African Region including representatives and policy makers of government bodies, ministries of health, trade and industry and other relevant national institutions. Representatives of regional and international agencies including the African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities in the African Region and experts from nongovernmental organizations - South Centre and Third World Network - also participated in the meeting.
At the end of their deliberations, the participants recommended to the WHO Secretariat that the consultative meetings of the Intergovernmental Working Group at national, subregional and regional levels take place between September and November 2007.
Furthermore, the participants recommended to Member States to make the ministries of health lead the process and establish national mechanisms for monitoring the Intergovernmental Working Group process through establishing national consultative committees and organizing and facilitating national consultative meetings among stakeholders.
The participants also recommended that partners to support the process actively in order to ensure timely completion of the negotiations of the Intergovernmental Working Group.
For more information contact:
Technical Contact:
Abayeneh Desta
Division: Development of Health Systems and Services
Tel: + 47241 39262
Mail: destaa [at] afro.who.int
Media Contact:
Joana Teixeira
Public Information and Communication Unit
Tél: + 47 241 39382