The Joint Technical Symposium held on 16
December by the World Health Organization (WHO), World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) highlighted that the
world can move quickly when driven by a crisis situation, such as the COVID-19
pandemic. Cooperation is a key factor to foster innovation and timely equitable
access to health products ? for COVID-19 and in preparation for future
pandemics.
WIPO Director General Daren Tang, WHO
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WTO Director-General Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala opened the Symposium. They pointed out the need to leverage
lessons learned during the first three years of the COVID-19 pandemic and to
build on and expand the cooperation that has emerged from this health crisis.
“There is no certainty when the next pandemic
will strike us, but there is absolute certainty that it will happen again. We
can and must do better the next time it happens, for ourselves and our
children. I hope that today’s trilateral symposium will bring us closer
together and strengthen our collective will to work across the agencies,
alongside our partners in the Member States, industry and civil society, to
deliver a better, healthier and more sustainable outcome for our world.” WIPO
Director General Daren Tang said.
"Today's symposium is about frank,
inclusive and empirically grounded dialogue about how global trade and
intellectual property rules contributed to what went well - and what did not ?
with the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This will help lay the
foundation for better responses to future global health crises." WTO
Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said.
“Despite all the gains we have made in the
past three years, severe global inequities still hamper the response,” said WHO
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “
The local production of vaccines,
diagnostics and therapeutics is key to bringing this pandemic to an end, and
for strengthening preparedness for future emergencies.
The keynote address was delivered by Mr.
Salim Abdool Karim, Director of the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in
South Africa and Professor of Global Health, Columbia University. He reviewed
developments during the pandemic from a scientific perspective and discussed
possible ways forward with regard to pandemic preparedness and response. He
noted that though we have reached a widespread immunity from vaccination and
natural infection which has reduced hospitalization and severe illness, the
virus continues to spread, creating an ever-present risk of unpredictable new
variants.
The opening was followed by two panel
discussions. The first panel ? moderated by Ms. Anabel Gonz?lez, WTO Deputy
Director-General ? discussed the key global challenges encountered during the
COVID-19 pandemic, featuring speakers from the South Centre, Africa Centres for
Disease Control and Prevention, Gilead Sciences, the International Generic and
Biosimilar Medicines Association and M?decins Sans Fronti?res (MSF).
The second panel - moderated by Ms. Hanan
Hassan O Balky, WHO Assistant Director-General, Access to Medicines and Health
Products Division ? discussed how to respond to, and recover from, the health
crisis generated by COVID-19, as well as build resilience against future
pandemics. Speakers represented the European Commission's Health and Emergency
Preparedness and Response Authority, Argentina's Ministry of Health,
Indonesia’s Ministry of Health, the WHO Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (WHO
INB), Developing Countries Vaccines Manufacturers Network (DCVMN), the
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Oxfam International.
Mr. Edward Kwakwa, Assistant Director
General, Global Challenges and Partnerships Sector, WIPO, summarized the day’s
discussions stating that pandemic preparedness and response will depend on
harnessing the innovative and creative capacities of all people. The sharing of
technology and know-how, geographical diversification of manufacturing, supply
chain security, smooth regulatory approval processes, pooling of procurement
and financing and a balanced global IP and innovation ecosystem that helps to
ensure equitable access for all to health technologies were referred to as key
elements to be better prepared for future pandemics. A Trilateral Symposium
does not end with joint conclusions or recommendations. It opens a forum for discussion. It enables the exchange of diverse
viewpoints.
Source: World Health Organization
Date: 2022-12-16