On September 10th and 11th, the World Health Organization (WHO) will hold a consultation with member states in Geneva to develop a road map on access to medicines. The 194 countries that constitute the organization are expected to ratify a series of guidelines to be developed in the period 2019-2023 with the aim of guaranteeing the application and management of intellectual property, fair pricing policies and research and development of medicines. A document will be produced after this meeting to be addressed at the 72nd World Health Assembly in May 2019. The summit will define the most efficient mechanisms for achieving these goals by 2023..

The 71st World Health Assembly finished in May 2018 with the adoption of a number of resolutions and decisions, including WHA71(8). The report requested Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in consultation with member states, to develop a road map for programming WHO’s work on access to drugs and vaccines until 2023. The resolution states that the strategy should be presented at the next World Assembly in May 2019.

In response to that request, the Secretariat prepared a preliminary draft road map for a consultation with member states, to be held on September 10th and 11th in Geneva. The draft includes ten areas of activity to be addressed in the period 2019-2023, among which are: the application and management of intellectual property, fair pricing policies and financing and research and development of medicines and vaccines. The final roadmap will be presented in May 2019.