11.6 WHA71 Global strategy public health, innovation and intellectual property – WMA

THE WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, INC.
L’ASSOCIATION MEDICALE MONDIALE, INC
ASOCIACION MEDICA MUNDIAL, INC
Centre International de Bureaux
Immeuble A «Keynes» Website : www.wma.net Postal Address :
13, chemin du Levant Telephone : (33) 4 50 40 75 75 Boîte Postale 63
01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE Fax : (33) 4 50 40 59 37 01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE Cedex
France E-mail address : wma@wma.net France
71st
World Health Assembly
11.6 Global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property
May 2018
Honourable Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates,
Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the World Medical Association, which
represents more than 9 million physicians around the world.
We welcome WHO report and take note of the recommendations made by the review panel for
priority actions between 2018 and 2022.
Access to modern medicine can contribute to mitigating some of the health inequities and facilitate
progress towards Universal Health Coverage. As health professionals, we therefore support the
opening to newer essential health products, encompassing medicines, vaccines, diagnostics or
biologicals. This requires however harmonized and accurate intellectual property regulations as well
as sustainable and transparent sources of funding., We regret that adequate prioritization of action
on R&D priorities and development of innovative funding mechanisms are still missing.
We support the WHO in its leadership on health-related intellectual property issues and its role in
facilitating the efforts of member states to promote Universal Health Coverage. In a globalized
economy, national and international intellectual property regulations should always serve the people
on a global scale and not put some in disadvantage against the others as it currently is the case.
Thank you