Today, at the 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, 53 countries signed a statement committing to identify solutions to improve access to effective, novel and high-priced medicines in the Region through a multistakeholder platform.
“This statement is the result of 2 years of determined, inclusive and participatory work. We have engaged in meaningful consultations with all key stakeholders and partners including the European Commission, the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development], independent experts, analysts, the private sector and civil society,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, at the signing.
Member States of the WHO European Region have voiced concern over the escalating prices and budgetary impact of novel medicines, which have restricted patient access. The market for these specialized medicines is anticipated to expand significantly in the next decade, offering new patient opportunities and challenging health systems. Urgent action is required to ensure equitable access for all patients in need, now and in the future, and to ensure health-care systems’ sustainability.
As the collaborations developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have shown, the key to progress is working together to identify and agree on potential solutions for enhanced solidarity and equity. Since its inception, the Oslo Medicines Initiative (OMI) has sought to bring key players together to find solutions to increase access to medicines in the European Region. The OMI recognizes that improving access to medicines requires solidarity, because there is strength in numbers; transparency, to build trust; and sustainability, because we need ethical and sustainable health systems.
The OMI has identified an urgent need to define more clearly the roles and social and ethical responsibilities of the public and the private sectors concerning research, development and affordable access to effective, novel, high-cost medicines. The OMI proposes this should happen through dialogue as part of shared responsibility and commitment to realizing a “social contract”.
A neutral platform
Building on the work of the OMI, this neutral stakeholder platform will allow countries and non-state actors to jointly identify and agree on potential solutions for equitable access to medicine.
The platform, hosted and facilitated by WHO/Europe, will promote and enable direct and open discussions between non-state actors and countries to explore the feasibility of collaboration in several areas and elaborate concrete actions that could contribute towards a new joint way of working.
“WHO holds a unique position. WHO/Europe can truly play the role of an honest broker. We are able to bring together differing views and parties around a common table, to work together, and find shared solutions,” added Dr Kluge. “The key to joint solutions is dialogue. And that dialogue needs to take place in a safe space.”
Participation will be voluntary, and countries will have the opportunity to help shape the terms of reference for this platform, including the timeline, membership, organizational approach and expected deliverables.