The Local Production & Assistance (LPA) Unit supports Member States in strengthening sustainable local production and technology transfer to improve access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable medicines and other health technologies, by applying a holistic, ecosystem-wide and strategic approach in collaboration with governments, partners, and other stakeholders. Local production has been discussed in World Health Assemblies since the 1970s. The adoption of Resolution WHA61.21for the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation, and Intellectual Property (GSPA-PHI), and recent WHA74.6 brought a renewed focus on local production and related technology transfer as a strategy to promote innovation, build capacity and improve access to quality-assured medical products.
Many countries, particularly LMICs, need guidance and support to strengthen coherent policies and a conducive business environment, as well as for local production to be quality assured and sustainable. Requested by Member States, the LPA Unit has been providing holistic and coordinated support across the value chain – from R&D and product development to technology transfer and manufacturing to distribution, supply, etc. – to strengthen local production and technology transfer in collaboration with UN agencies and other partners under WHA61.21, WHA71(8), WHA72.8, WHA74.6 and others. This includes guidance tools, situational analyses for sustainable quality local production, fostering partnerships to seek consensus and a global approach in strengthening local production, capacity building and PQ/EUL/ERP(D)-related specialized technical assistance to achieve quality assurance and sustainability, development of skilled human resources, risk-based product selection, and facilitating technology transfer for prioritized products and technologies.
The LPA Unit supports Member States in strengthening sustainable local production ecosystem-wide and across the value chain by forging political commitment through strategies, policies and partnerships; providing country support and Technology transfer, building capacity of manufacturers, regulators and other stakeholders, and providing assistance on Prequalification (PQ) related topics.
Low- and middle-income countries’ (LMICs) need for quality assured medicines and health products is dependent on importation and are at risk of inconsistent supply of such products. LMICs are increasingly interested in developing the local production of their own quality-assured medicines and health products. Hence, local production is a strategy to improve access to safe, quality-assured, affordable medical products, ensure reliable supply chains, achieve universal health coverage, strengthen health security, and reach the health-related targets and broader development goals of the SDGs.
Technology transfer is a logical procedure that controls the transfer of products, processes and knowledge together with its documentation and professional expertise, allowing the diffusion of innovation to new horizons/markets. Technology transfer can build capacity for quality local production in a relatively short time and bring the supply of essential health products closer to the public health needs.
Manufacturers, particularly in LMICs, may face challenges accessing and implementing the technology to build capacity. Technology transfer is a complex process that needs a holistic and collaborative approach. The LPA Unit supports countries to facilitate technology transfer fand absorption for sustainable quality local production with a focus on priority health products or technologies which have high public health impact, in collaboration with other WHO programmes. The LPA Unit, for example, conducts landscape analyses on technology transfer for the local production of medical products, and continuously explores mechanisms to increase technology transfer and new opportunities for collaboration to promote technology transfer in developing countries in line with country needs.
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Report by the Director-General
Report by the Director-General
In January 2018, the Executive Board, at its 142nd session, noted an earlier version of this report1 and adopted decision EB142(3) in which it recommended...
Global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property. The Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly.
The Local Production and Assistance (LPA) Unit in the Regulation and Prequalification Department (RPQ), Access to Medicines and Health Products Division...
The Local Production and Assistance (LPA) Unit in the Regulation and Prequalification Department (RPQ), Access to Medicines and Health Products Division...
The Local Production and Assistance (LPA) Unit in the Regulation and Prequalification Department (RPQ), Access to Medicines and Health Products Division...
The Local Production and Assistance (LPA) Unit in the Regulation and Prequalification Department (RPQ), Access to Medicines and Health Products Division...
The Local Production and Assistance (LPA) Unit in the Regulation and Prequalification Department (RPQ), Access to Medicines and Health Products Division...
The Local Production and Assistance (LPA) Unit in the Regulation and Prequalification Department (RPQ), Access to Medicines and Health Products Division...
The Local Production and Assistance (LPA) Unit in the Regulation and Prequalification Department (RPQ), Access to Medicines and Health Products Division...
The 2024 Virtual cGMP Training Marathon represented a crucial step towards strengthening local vaccine manufacturing capabilities in LMICs. This annual...
This report provides an overview of the second WLPF, held from November 6 to 8, 2023, in The Hague, Netherlands (Kingdom of the). Organized by the WHO...
The World Local Production Forum: Enhancing access to medicines and other health technologies (WLPF) brings the global community – foremost government...
Equity in access to health technologies constitutes one of the goals towards achieving universal health coverage.The Global Strategy and Plan of Action...
Ensuring quality of the health product ensures its safety and efficacy. Manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face challenges to...
The 3 rd Virtual cGMP Training Marathon for Vaccine Manufacturing was delivered virtually by the LPA Unit, with financial support from the Bill &...
From the WHO standpoint, the single most important aspect of China’s current policy with respect to the pharmaceutical sector is its close linkage...
This paper is the output of work commissioned and undertaken by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development...
This report provides an overview of the third WLPF, held from April 7 to 9, 2024, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Organized by the WHO Local Production...
A lesson learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic is the importance on diversification of vaccine production geographically to meet the local demands and enhance...
In the 1960s, Indian policy-makers identified distortions in the domestic pharmaceutical market, and in 1970 decided to eliminate pharmaceutical product...
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In this conversation, Dr Jicui Dong, Head of the Secretariat of the World Local Production Forum and the Head of Local Production and Assistance Unit,...
In response to Member States’ requests for capacity building in the local production of quality-assured vaccines, the LPA Unit organized the Virtual...
On 25 April 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened an informal interagency consultation to discuss local production of essential medicines...
LPA provides support through strategic partnerships, situational analysis, strategy/roadmap setting, technology transfer facilitation, capacity building and PQ/EUL/ERP(D)-related specialized technical assistance. For further information about provision of specialized technical
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