Health ministers
and senior delegates from across the Western Pacific Region, home to nearly 2.2
billion people, have expressed strong support for exploring voluntary regional
collaboration to improve access to safe, effective, quality-assured and affordable
health products. This was the key outcome of a ministerial roundtable at the
seventy-seventh session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional
Committee for the Western Pacific, the regional governing body.
Convened at the
request of the Philippines and facilitated by the Division of Health Systems
and Services at the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, the roundtable
explored how countries could work together to respond to mounting challenges
affecting access to medicines and other critical health supplies.
Latest WHO
estimates show that nearly 600 million people in the Region, or 27% of the
population, faced financial hardship from health spending, with cost of
medicines a major driver of out-of-pocket spending. Geopolitical and economic
crises are adding pressure on supply chains and health budgets, making access
to medicines harder to sustain.
"Access to
safe, effective, quality-assured and affordable medicines is fundamental to
universal health coverage," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO
Director-General, while addressing the gathering. "Strong national
pharmaceutical systems must remain the foundation. But some problems cannot be
solved by countries acting alone. WHO stands ready to support Member States in
analyzing the options, learning from other regions, and developing solutions
that reinforce national systems and reflect the realities of the Western
Pacific Region."
The
Director-General pointed to Africa's regulatory harmonization efforts and the
African Medicines Agency as examples of what countries can achieve together.
The Pan American Health Organization, the WHO Regional Office for the Americas,
shared lessons from over 40 years of rich experience with its Regional Revolving Funds. The WHO Regional Office
for Europe, which also covers Central Asia, described how collaboration among
countries and stakeholders can improve access to medicines, highlighting
regional initiatives and lessons from its Novel Medicines Platform.
WHO outlined five
areas where regional collaboration could complement national efforts:
1) stockpiling
rare and critical products such as antidotes and antitoxins;
2) cooperation
through regulatory reliance and recognition;
3) sharing
intelligence to better deal with shortages and supply security;
4) aggregating
demand and building collaborative procurement; and
5) collective
action to help emergency preparedness.
Member States
agreed that any collaboration should be country-led, voluntary, and
complementary to national systems and existing mechanisms. They stressed the
role of strong national regulatory systems in ensuring the quality, safety and
efficacy of health products.
Several countries
called for better demand forecasting and market transparency. Japan, for
example, asked for clarity on the scope of proposed regional collaborations,
and for the roles of partners such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the
Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to be considered. Many saw
subregional groupings, including and particularly the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), as a practical basis for taking collaboration forward.
ASEAN member
countries also pointed to existing initiatives on drug, vaccine and diagnostic
security and self-reliance, including ASEAN Drug Security and Self-Reliance,
ASEAN Vaccine Security and Self-Reliance and ASEAN Diagnostics Security and
Self-Reliance, which could offer lessons for improving market transparency and
procurement.
Five regulatory
authorities in the Region (Australia, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea
and Singapore) are WHO Listed Authorities, recognized for meeting international
standards. Singapore and Indonesia highlighted that regulatory cooperation
could reduce duplication of regulatory work, facilitate more timely access to
new and life-saving medicines, and make markets more attractive to
manufacturers. Australia, which works across both the ASEAN and Pacific
subregions, offered to share lessons from regulatory partnerships.
Malaysia proposed
a pooled procurement pilot, starting with a few essential medicines for which
countries share clear needs. The Marshall Islands and Papua New Guinea welcomed
the idea and offered to be pilot sites, saying it was time to move from discussion
to action. Palau, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu also voiced support, with Samoa
speaking for many in calling for an equitable voice for Pacific island countries and areas.
"I am so
encouraged by the collegiality and candour displayed by our Member States on
this timely topic," said Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for
the Western Pacific. "Countries have issued a strong call to action,
requesting WHO to chart a concrete plan with clear milestones. It’s clear that
we need to demonstrate measurable progress that benefits the Region, especially
for countries that currently face significant constraints in accessing the
medicines and other commodities they need.”
"While the
roundtable was exploratory, it showed
growing interest in practical and voluntary approaches to shared
challenges," said Lluis Vinyals Torres, Director of the Division of Health
Systems and Services at the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific.
"WHO will continue working with Member States through further technical
analysis and consultation, taking into account country needs and existing
mechanisms, to move from ad hoc responses to planned arrangements. Working
together reflects the multilateral approach to health that WHO in the Western
Pacific promotes for over a quarter of the world population."
For more information and/or to arrange media interviews, contact wprocom@who.int
The work of the
Division of Health Systems and Services at the WHO Regional Office for the
Western Pacific can be accessed at Division of Health Systems
and Services.