COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic nearly a year ago, and in that time, global leaders have increasingly seen the importance of innovation and collaboration in addressing this major global health challenge. Colombia – as one of only 34 countries represented on the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board in 2021 – has an extraordinary opportunity to advance efforts that fuel progress and support a strong intellectual property (IP) and innovation ecosystem.

One such opportunity is when the Executive Board continues conversations on the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (GSPOA). The GSPOA, negotiated and approved 13 years ago, helps countries set policies to support discovery of new treatments and cures for diseases disproportionately affecting developing nations.

Importantly, the GSPOA views IP as “an important incentive in the development of health care products.” However, as nations look to speed COVID-19 therapies and vaccines to people worldwide, some leaders have supported misguided policies, such as compulsory licensing, that could inadvertently delay efforts to contain the pandemic. Proposals to erode or suspend longstanding intellectual property policies threaten much-needed innovation for developing and developed nations alike. Such focus also strays from the WHO’s main mission of leading the global coordination and response to pandemics like the coronavirus and other health emergencies – which should remain the priority, especially now.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll, but it has also spurred unprecedented collaboration and innovation to address it – due, in no small part, to strong IP systems that protect innovators. Colombia has been hit hard by COVID-19, both socially and economically. By the end of 2020, for example, GDP was expected to drop a significant 7.8% because of the pandemic.

Embracing innovation and supporting innovative industries could help reverse economic setbacks from the pandemic. However, Colombia has room to grow in optimizing their economy for innovation, ranking 68th out of the 131 economies featured in the 2020 Global Innovation Index.

The potential remains, as Colombia has shown an appreciation for the role of IP, innovation and collaboration in addressing our current challenges:

• In its National Development Plan 2018-2022, Colombia has underscored the value of innovation, noting “the national government will design and put into operation a national knowledge network that configures a new environment based on knowledge management, innovation and R&D.” And to do so, they understand the importance of IP, noting “new lines should be enabled for sectors with dynamics, terms for return on investment and different risks. In particular, with regard to security, the use of intangible assets and intellectual property…should be promoted…[and] the sources of information and capacities for the evaluation of said guarantees should be strengthened.”
• And at last year’s World Health Assembly Colombia underscored the need for collaboration and partnership, stating they “make a very special call to all the countries of the world, to the members of the Pan American Health Organization, the World Health Organization, in this Assembly to develop cooperation mechanisms that allow us to integrate our efforts, jointly develop protocols and strategies for addressing the epidemic, and also, for the reestablishment of the social, cultural and economic order of our societies.”

Colombia’s leaders should speak up to defend IP and innovation, which it very much supports for its own nation’s prosperity, as well as advocate for continued partnerships, including collaboration with private sector. In doing so, we can end the coronavirus pandemic and improve global health.