The African content is one step closer to its first medicine and health super-regulator. The treaty to establish an African Medicine Agency (AMA), meant to govern medical product regulation for the entire continent, was endorsed by the African Union Heads of State and Government on 11 February, according to a press release following the 32nd AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Continue reading ->

Image Credits: African Union.

There continues to be positive progress on controlling the use of antimicrobials in animals in countries, according to a recent report of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), which is linked to the rise in human antimicrobial resistance. But more countries need to take action and better data is needed from many, the report found, as efforts will continue. Continue reading ->

Image Credits: OIE.

Registration has begun for a closed-door gathering allowing governments and stakeholders to hold open discussions about a fairer pricing system for medical products, led by the World Health Organization. The second meeting of the Fair Pricing Forum, this time in South Africa, comes as debates over drug pricing and access rise ever higher in developing and developed countries alike. Continue reading ->

Image Credits: World Health Organization.

Secure and reliable supply chains for life-saving medicines are essential features of the global health landscape. They ensure that quality approved drugs are manufactured and available in the quantities needed, without interruption. For the fight against malaria, securing supply chains for quality, life-saving antimalarials involves the collective effort of a range of organisations working to mitigate the risk of any shortage of these drugs. A recent success in this area has been the quality approval of a second supplier of injectable artesunate, the drug recommended by the World Health Organization to treat severe malaria. Continue reading ->

Image Credits: Alena Koscalove / MSF, Damien Schumann / MMV, Ben Moldenhauer / MMV.

Katy Athersuch, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Senior Policy Advisor – Medical Innovation & Access, spoke to Health Policy Watch about the recent proposal by Italy’s Minister of Health, Giulia Grillo, for a World Health Assembly resolution on transparency in drug pricing (Health Policy Watch 18 February). The far-reaching proposal asks countries to require disclosure by pharmaceutical companies of their R&D and, manufacturing costs, and public subsidies received, at the time a drug is registered. The resolution would also strengthen WHO’s role in global monitoring and assessment of available data on the costs and pricing of essential medicines. This is the first in a series of Q&As on the issue, looking towards April’s Fair Pricing Forum, where WHO member states will convene in South Africa, followed by the annual World Health Assembly in May.
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Image Credits: MSF Access Campaign, MSF/ Sophia Apostolia.

[Note: this meeting has been postponed until 6 March, as “a few more days are needed to work out the remaining details that will provide a comprehensive picture of our collective way forward,” according to a new message from the director general.]

Top officials from the World Health Organization will meet on 28 February will staff to discuss the transformation of the UN agency to a new structural alignment, according to an internal WHO email from the director general to staff worldwide. Continue reading ->