Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning to you all.
I am very pleased to be addressing you today at this important regional workshop.
Capacity building in technology transfer, and public health orientated intellectual property licensing agreements, both have the potential to increase access to health technologies in our countries.
Thus, this workshop is an important one for us - one which can positively shape the health tech landscape in our region.
Last year, a regional workshop was held in Bangkok to discuss how to accelerate technology transfer for local production and improve access to medical products.
Following on from the recommendations from Bangkok, this workshop has been convened here, a year later.
There are, of course, two significant World Health Assembly resolutions that pertain to the discussions here.
The first is “Global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property” - or GSPA.
GSPA seeks to address the reality that market mechanisms, together with intellectual property rights, lead to a lack of investment in R&D investment for health products for diseases of relevance to developing countries.
The second is “Strengthening local production of medicines and other health technologies to improve access”.
Through this resolution, countries committed to voluntary initiatives - such as the development of voluntary patent pools - to promote access to medical products.
In 2023, our member states identified thematic areas of recommendations for action, and nine areas were identified for technical support from WHO. I am glad that this workshop, over the next 3 days, will address some of those areas.
As we know, South–South technological collaboration has significant potential, and can address the technology needs of developing countries. Pooling the resources of these countries allows for addressing common tech challenges and promotes knowledge-sharing - particularly based on the catch-up experiences of some nations. It also can lead to learning, particularly through technology alliances and tech transfer initiatives.
There is much knowledge, experience and information that we already have access to. We can build on this. Our countries can, and should, align their national and regional policies and strategies, by supporting a holistic approach for access to health technologies for UHC.
There are several areas we should focus on and promote, including:
- research and development
- transparency of markets for medicines and other health tech
- regulatory systems strengthening
- access to sustainable and affordable financing
- development of skilled human resources
- and, above all - access to technology transfer
I would also like to mention that embracing technology and innovations is one of the pillars of our Regional Roadmap for Results and Resilience. This Roadmap was co-created and endorsed our Member States. Therefore, we can confidently say that the South-East Region has already identified, endorsed and prioritized the broader objectives of this workshop.
Let us explore North–South and South–South development cooperation, partnerships and networks. And as we build and improve the transfer of health innovation technology, let us take into account the rights and obligations in the TRIPS Agreement, including those affirmed by the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.
I thank the Government of India for hosting these deliberations, and all participants for contributing their time and expertise.
I wish you all have productive discussions, and a pleasant stay in Kerala.
Thank you.