KEI comments to IGWG2

8 November 2007

KEI appreciates the opportunity to speak today. Our comments will focus on 3 items.

1. Transparency

Thiru Balasubramaniam, Geneva Representative, Knowledge Ecology International 

Sara Crager, MD/PhD Candidate '12 at Yale University/Universities Allied for Essential Medicines

Nicoletta Dentico, Policy and Advocacy Advisor, DNDi

This morning the 62nd session World Health Assembly agreed to a resolution on public health, innovation and intellectual property that, among other things, settled outstanding issues regarding the “stakeholders” for various parts of the Global Strategy and Plan of Action. (GS/PoA). With regard to the issue of a possible medical R&D treaty, the outcome of the negotiation was something of a split decision. On the one hand, the WHA agreed that the WHO would not be a stakeholder, in terms of the specific element of the WHO Global Strategy document.

21 May 2009

Today at the World Health Assembly (WHA) the US and EU are opposing that the WHO have a mandate on global research and development norms, including the possibility for Member States to negotiate at WHO a global biomedical R&D treaty.

Developing countries governments made very strong interventions this morning on this issue (among them India, Bolivia, Barbados, Suriname, Bangladesh, Ghana, Argentina, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Cuba and Jamaica) and are wondering where are the promises of multilateralism made by the new Obama administration.