PUBLIC SEMINAR
Friday, 4 May 2012, 10:00-13:15
Auditorium Jacques Freymond, rue de Lausanne 132, 1202 Geneva
Strengthening the Global R&D System
Innovation for Health Needs in Developing Countries
The issue of Research & Development (R&D) illustrates a broader challenge for global governance, which is to ensure the sufficient provision of global public goods – particularly knowledge-related goods needed to protect and promote health. Current investments in R&D and innovation for meeting health needs in developing countries are not sufficient. The existing model of R&D is not adequate when it comes to discovering and developing medicines and other health technologies, which in particular address the needs of markets with low purchasing power. These issues have been analysed and discussed in several processes at the World Health Organization. Finding a sustainable solution for issues related to the financing and coordination of R&D, however, needed more work. The Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination (CEWG) will present its final report to the WHO in April 2012, and the World Health Assembly will in its 65th session in May 2012 discuss and decide on how the recommendations of this group should be taken forward.
The Graduate Institute, Geneva in collaboration with the Harvard Global Health Institute, USA and the University of Oslo, Norway is hosting a seminar to facilitate a multi-stakeholder discussion based on the recommendations of the CEWG report to assess different approaches to addressing R&D and innovation challenges, in particular the recommendation to create an overarching global framework, such as an R&D convention, for improving finance, governance and coordination. The purpose of the seminar is to provide a neutral platform that allows representatives of governments, international organisations, the private sector, NGOs and civil society at large to engage and share their perspectives and views on these issues as well as to inform and help prepare for the deliberations at the 65th session of the WHA.
Seminar Report [pdf]
A Global Convention for Health R&D?: Brief for policy-makers. Global Health Programme Policy Brief, 2012 [pdf] (reference and footnotes)
Executive Summary on Research and Development to Meet Health Needs in Developing Countries: Strengthening Global Financing and Coordination. Report of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination, WHO [pdf]
Links to the articles about the seminar
