Read this article in Romanian here.
Romania is now serving a three-year term on the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Executive Board, a key decision-making body that guides the WHO’s work on global health. Alongside thirty-three other countries on the Executive Board, Romania will attend the 144th session of the Executive Board in January 2019 to discuss topics ranging from polio eradication to the health implications of climate change.
But perhaps the most important topic on the Executive Board’s agenda is the WHO’s proposed Roadmap on Access to Medicines. This Roadmap sets priorities for the next five years of the WHO’s work on medicines around the world. As an Executive Board member, Romania will help shape the discussion about how the WHO should approach this issue.
Unfortunately, the WHO’s Roadmap, proposed by the WHO’s Secretariat, has serious problems that Member States need to fix. For example, the Roadmap envisions an expanded WHO role advising countries on intellectual property, such as the use of “compulsory licenses” (sometimes called “TRIPS flexibilities”) to allow the manufacture of patented medicines without the patent owners’ consent. This is unnecessary and would gravely harm global innovation – making it harder for patients to access today’s medicines and undermining investment in tomorrow’s new treatments and cures.
The WHO’s Roadmap reflects a tendency at the WHO to see patents as a barrier to access. But this isn’t true: research has found no correlation between intellectual property and access to medicines. Nearly all the drugs the WHO deems “essential” are already off-patent yet still out of reach for millions due to other factors, such as weak and underfunded health care systems. Strengthening IP can actually facilitate access, both by stimulating new discoveries and making it easier for innovative medicines to reach patients that need them.
The WHO is also ill-suited to make these recommendations: it lacks the expertise to advise countries on the complex technical, economic and trade implications of intellectual property (IP) protections. Many countries have already raised concerns that the WHO should not spend its limited resources working on such polarizing tasks that are unlikely to improve access to medicines.
WHO Executive Board members need to step up—and speak out—about the vital role of IP in spurring new discoveries. Romania has much to gain from promoting research and development (R&D) and innovation across major sectors of their economy. With more than half of Romania’s R&D performed in the business enterprise sector, its leaders have an opportunity to speak out about the importance of IP rights and protections as a way to boost innovation and improve access to medicines for Romanian patients.
As WHO Executive Board considers how to improve access to medicines, Romania has a chance to rebut the idea that weakening IP will do anything to improve access. Romania has already begun to establish itself as a leading advocate for improving global health care systems. The country is, therefore, in prime position to help focus the WHO on tackling the real barriers to access, such as weak and under-funded health care systems, poor infrastructure and taxes/tariffs. In particular, Romania should speak out clearly at the Executive Board meeting to convey concerns about the WHO engaging in tasks that would undermine innovation globally.
Now’s the time to act. Patients around the world depend on Romania and the other Executive Board members to lead the charge on proactive and comprehensive solutions that address the real and complex obstacles to better global health.
