The President of the United Nations General Assembly convened a series of multi-stakeholder hearings in preparation of the High-Level Meetings on Universal Health Coverage, the fight against Tuberculosis and Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response taking place in September. The Hearings provided an opportunity for all relevant stakeholders to contribute to the ongoing preparatory process for the High-Level Meetings, with a focus on the current state of efforts and top needs to accelerate response. Participants were encouraged to exchange views on key priorities for the High-Level Meeting, while underscoring experiences and best practices on the ground, highlighting the special challenges faced by civil society and other relevant stakeholders working in the field and the need for stronger accountability at all levels.

Speaker: Andrew Goldman, Medicines Patent Pool

The Medicines Patent Pool, or MPP, is a non-governmental organization that utilizes voluntary licensing of intellectual property and technology transfer to a broad network of generic manufacturers to enable affordable access to new health products in LMICs, with demonstrable success in HIV and other disease fields. Recently, MPP, alongside the WHO, has established the mRNA technology transfer programme to build equitably distributed mRNA vaccine manufacturing capacity in 15-20 countries across LMICs.

During a pandemic, the world does not have the luxury of time to sort out access strategies while the clock is ticking and lives are at risk. The inclusion of equitable access conditions in funding agreements can help address questions of affordable access long before a product comes to market, and this is especially important in the context of PPPR. Public, multilateral, and charitable financing of R&D can be conditioned on funded entities taking sufficient measures, by voluntary licensing or otherwise, to ensure that every medical technology is available and affordable to all. Such conditionalities can be equally viable no matter whether in the funding of R&D for a pan-TB regimen, or for treatments of NCDs, or any other.

Affordable access to medicines, vaccines, and other medical technologies is essential to achieving UHC, and cannot be a secondary thought in the context of a pandemic. MPP stands ready to lend its expertise in licensing and technology transfer and its existing networks in furtherance of PPPR efforts, and to achieve UHC.

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