All countries and sectors have until 30 September to submit their ideas. In October, a project will be selected to represent the region before the WHO.
Washington, D.C., 10 September 2013 (PAHO/WHO) - The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) calls on interested parties in the Americas to present innovative research and development projects for medicines and other health technologies. The deadline for submission is 30 September.
The objective of this appeal is to bring together initiatives proposing innovative mechanisms to coordinate and finance the development of medicines and other health technologies for middle- and low-income countries in the region.
The call for proposals is open to all sectors. Thus, it is hoped that in addition to the PAHO/WHO member countries, initiatives will also be received from civil society, academic and research centers, the private sector, nongovernmental public health organizations, and researchers.
In October, PAHO/WHO will organize a meeting of representatives of the Member States to select four projects from among the initiatives received. These projects will be sent to WHO as official candidates of the Americas.
This selection process is part of a worldwide initiative involving the six regions of WHO, which will culminate in the selection of a limited number of "demonstration projects" to be presented during the World Health Assembly in 2014.
In May 2013, the 66th World Health Assembly adopted a resolution that urges the WHO and its regional offices and member countries, to identify gaps in research and development related to the acquisition, preparation, and distribution of medical products. It further establishes that projects should be identified that use innovative financing and coordination mechanisms for the development of drugs, diagnostic tools, or other health technologies, the shortages of which currently affect the most vulnerable populations.
For that reason, the projects submitted for the Americas will have to follow that approach, and should also include a financing and coordination mechanism that is consistent with the type of technology proposed. These types of projects may include, for example, diagnostic tools for neglected and infectious diseases, and antibiotics and other anti-infective agents, among others.
The projects should preferably be presented in English. Interested parties can send their initiatives directly to: cewgdemonstrations@paho.org. They should use the standard template for a candidate demonstration project and the WHO conflict of interest statement.
All the documentation and additional information is available in the PRAIS Community of Practice "Proyectos de demostración CEWG/Demonstration Projects CEWG." It is also available at the following link: www.paho.org/proyectosdedemostracionCEWG
Documents for the project presentation:
- Standard plan for a proposed demonstration project
- Standard Template for a Candidate Demonstration Project
- WHO Form Declaration of Interest
Related links
- WHO. Decisions and list of resolutions. A66/DIV./3 28 May 2013 (121.92 kB)
- WHO: WHA66.22 - Follow up of the report of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination
- Regional Platform on Access and Health Innovation for Technologies (PRAIS)
- WHO Intellectual Property
