Access to essential medicines and other health technologies requires, among other elements, ensuring their safety, quality, and effectiveness, as well as making them affordable and available in a timely manner and in forms that meet the needs, while including comprehensive health services that promote their rational use. The PAHO 59th Directing Council (September 2021) approved the policy document "Increasing production capacity for essential medicines and health technologies" and the corresponding resolution CD59.R3. These documents provide a common and sustainable framework with prioritized strategic lines of action to orient and guide the countries of the Region in their work.
COVID-19 has shed light on the high dependence of Latin America and the Caribbean on imports of health technologies from outside the Region and the vulnerability of global supply. PAHO its Member States and regional partners have renewed the efforts to improve local production capacities in the region and, at the request of Member States, PAHO launched a collaborative Platform that convene public and private stakeholders to facilitate the expansion of vaccine and other health technology research, development, and manufacturing in the Region.
Objective and goal
Generate a space for discussion and exchange of experiences to identify of opportunities for regional cooperation to increase the production capacities of medicines and other essential health technologies, including vaccines, to contribute to equitable access to these products.
The platform will foster research and incentivize the development and manufacturing of essential and strategic health technologies in the Americas, expanding manufacturing capacities to ensure access to safe, effective, and quality products, facilitating information exchange and foster cooperation between partners and countries.
The goal is to take advantage of existing production capacities that could contribute to manufacturing mRNA vaccines in the Americas. The principle is that manufacturing should benefit the entire region, with regional pharmaceutical production and distribution of the vaccines by PAHO’s Revolving Fund to all countries.