Strengthening regional health industries and promoting technology transfer to enhance pandemic resilience and improve health outcomes in LDCs

PrepCom1 Corresponding theme: 

"Leveraging the power of science, technology, and innovation to fight against multidimensional vulnerabilities and to achieve the SDGs"

Enhancing STI has become increasingly important as a driver of productivity growth in the era of enhanced digitization. LDCs must be put in a position to close the digital divide and overcome inequities in access to and productive use of digital technologies, otherwise they will be left behind. 

Registration 

Please join us via Zoom at: https://bit.ly/3wwGMG0

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the close interrelationship between health and economic activity. Many LDCs bear a disproportionate burden of disease which is a significant contribution to the poverty trap in which they find themselves. It is compounded by weak healthcare systems that are particularly fragile and vulnerable to crises.

Accessing medicines, vaccines and other health technologies of appropriate quality is a vital component of these healthcare systems and one which has been shown to be particularly susceptible to external shocks during the current pandemic. The situation relates to COVID-19 vaccines and to other priority vaccines, essential medicines, PPE and other healthcare commodities.

There is thus a need to build productive capacities for health technologies in LDCs and developing regions of the world and to shorten the value chains so that they become more regionalized and robust.

There is also the opportunity to work with the global community to explore how such capacities can contribute to a new, post-pandemic order that encourages innovation whilst enabling more equitable access to these products for citizens of developing and least developed countries.

Expected Outcomes

This session will reflect on issues highlighted by the pandemic such as disruption to supply of PPE, ARVs etc. as well as the challenges to achieving equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines given current highly constrained global supply.

It will consider the current situation with regard to local production of essential health technologies and products in LDCs and developing regions and identify the challenges that need to be overcome in order to build robust, sustainable, high-quality sources of essential health technologies and products in such jurisdictions.

It will also reflect on how technology transfer and voluntary licensing utilizing these capacities could be facilitated to accelerate access to innovative health technologies.

Speakers

• Mr. Greg Perry, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), Assistant Director General.
• Mr. Babatunde Omilola, African Development Bank, Public Health, Security and Nutrition Division, Manager.
• Dr. Janet Byaruhanga, African Union Development Agency, Public Health Senior Programme Officer.
• Ms. Xiaoping Wu, WTO, Department of Intellectual Property, Government Procurement and Competition, Counsellor.
• Dr. Charlemagne Gnoula, Burkina Faso, Bureau de Suivi du Programme Présidentiel.
• Dr. Tsepo Tsekoa, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Principal Researcher.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Mr. Moshe Kao, Programme Management Officer, UN Technology Bank

Other Resources: 

UNIDO: https://www.unido.org/ldc5