At the 41st session (24 June 2019 – 12 July 2019) of the Human Rights Council, a bloc of countries known as the the Core Group (Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, India, Senegal, South Africa and Thailand) have circulated a resolution on “Access to medicines and vaccines in the context of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.”
For the complete text of the zero draft, please see: RES HRC 41 – Access to medicines – ZERO DRAFT
Some of the key highlights from the new zero draft includes the following text:
PP10 Recalling General Assembly Resolution A/RES/71/3 of 19 October 2016, in which the Assembly adopted the Political Declaration of the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on Antimicrobial Resistance, whereby Heads of State and Government and other representatives underline that affordability and access to existing and new antimicrobial medicines, vaccines and diagnostics should be a global priority and should take into account the needs of all countries (NEW);
PP11 Recalling General Assembly Resolution A/RES/73/2 of 17 October 2018, in which the Assembly adopted the Political Declaration of the Third High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, whereby Heads of State and Government and other representatives commit to promote increased access to affordable, safe, effective and quality medicines and diagnostics and other technologies (NEW);
PP12 Recalling General Assembly Resolution A/RES/73/3 of 18 October 2018, in which the Assembly adopted the Political Declaration of the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the fight against tuberculosis, whereby Heads of State and Government and other commit to promoting access to affordable medicines, including generics, for scaling up access to affordable tuberculosis treatment (NEW);
PP13 Reaffirming the importance of the implementation of the Global Strategy and the Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property, contained in WHA Resolutions WHA61.21 and WHA62.16 and recent Decision WHA71(9) from 25 May 2018, that aims to promote new thinking on innovation and access to medicines and to secure an enhanced and sustainable basis for needs-driven essential health research and development relevant to diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries (NEW);
PP14 Welcoming the WHO Road Map for Access to Medicines, Vaccines and other Related Health Products 2019-2023 during the 72nd World Health Assembly, which recognizes that improving access to health products is a multidimensional challenge that requires comprehensive national policies and strategies aligning public health needs with economic and social development objectives and promoting collaboration with other sectors, partners and stakeholders, (NEW)
PP15 Reaffirming the importance of improved transparency of markets for medicines, vaccines, and other health products, and taking into consideration resolution WHA 72.8 adopted by the 72nd World Health Assembly (NEW),
PP16 Seriously concerned with the high prices and the inequitable access of some health-related products and technologies, within and among Member States which impede progress toward achieving Universal Health Coverage for all (WHO Transparency resolution, pp4),
PP17 Recalling the 2018 Astana Declaration on Primary Health Care, which recognizes the need to address the inefficiencies and inequities that expose people to financial hardship resulting from their use of health services by ensuring better allocation of resources for health, adequate financing of primary health care and to work towards the financial sustainability, efficiency and resilience of national health systems, appropriately allocating resources to primary health care based on national context. (Astana Declaration on Primary Health Care, 2018)
PP28 Recognizing the need to appropriately address challenges, gaps, market-failures and opportunities regarding the research and development of health technologies, availability and affordability to treat, inter alia, rare and neglected diseases, and respond to the growth of emerging challenges such as antimicrobial resistance, among others, with a view to avoid that exclusively market-driven approaches do not address adequately public health needs, as well as taking into account the necessity to promote alternative incentive frameworks to meet public health needs while adequately rewarding innovation (NEW);
PP29 Considering the report by the WHO Director-General on cancer medicines, which, pursuant to resolution WHA 70.12, examined the impacts of pricing approaches, including transparency, on availability and affordability of medicines for the prevention and treatment of cancer (NEW);
PP30 Recognizing with appreciation the introduction of new pharmaceutical products based on investment in innovation for cancer treatment in recent years, and noting with great concern the increasing cost to health systems and patients, as well as emphasizing the importance of addressing barriers in access to safe, quality, effective and affordable medicines, medical products and appropriate technology for cancer prevention, detection, screening diagnosis and treatment, including surgery, (NEW, Resolution WHA 70.12, adapted)
PP31 Expressing deep concern at recent outbreaks of highly infectious pathogens with pandemic potential, which demonstrate the potential vulnerability of populations to them, and in this context reaffirming and underscoring the importance of research and development (R&D) of new and innovative medicines and vaccines and of ensuring access to safe, affordable, effective and quality medicines and vaccines to all, including new and innovative medicines as well as building and/or strengthening health system capacities, including primary health care, for detecting, preventing and timely responding to outbreaks, epidemics, pandemics and other health emergencies (Updated),
3. Calls upon States to promote access to medicines and vaccines for all, including through the use, to the full, of the provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, which provide flexibility for that purpose, recognizing that the protection of intellectual property is important for the development of new and innovative medicines and vaccines, as well as the concerns about its effects on prices and public health; (Updated)
4. Also calls upon States to take steps to implement policies and plans to promote access to comprehensive and cost-effective prevention, treatment and care for the integrated management of non-communicable diseases, including, inter alia, increased access to affordable, safe, effective and quality medicines, vaccines and diagnostics and other health products , including through the full use of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights flexibilities; (Updated)
5. Reiterates the call upon States to continue to collaborate, as appropriate, on models and approaches that support the delinkage of the cost of new research and development from the prices of medicines, vaccines and diagnostics for diseases that predominantly affect developing countries, including emerging and neglected tropical diseases, so as to ensure their sustained accessibility, affordability and availability and to ensure access to treatment for all those in need;
6. Calls upon the international community to continue to assist developing countries in promoting the full realization of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including through access to medicines, in particular essential medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, medical devices and other health products that are affordable, safe, effective and of quality, and through financial ,technical support, training of personnel, and other capacity building measures, while recognizing that the primary responsibility for respecting, protecting and fulfilling all human rights rests with States; and recognizing the fundamental importance of the transfer of environmentally sound technologies on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed, (Updated according to HRC Res. 38/8)
8. Encourages the engagement between governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations , academic institutions, philanthropic foundations and the private sector, as well as greater policy coherence and coordinated actions through whole-of government and health-in-all-policies approaches, to find solutions to health challenges, such as the need for public health-driven research and development, alternative frameworks to adequately reward innovation, pricing and affordability of health products, and leveraging innovative technologies, including digital technologies, and solutions for health (NEW, WHO Roadmap on Access to Medicines and Vaccines, adapted)
9. Urges States, in cooperation with other stakeholders, to redouble efforts to achieve a continuous supply of quality, safe, effective and affordable health products through research and development that meets public health needs, for the efficient application and management of intellectual property standards, to carry out evidence-based selection of health products and seek fair and affordable pricing, to adopt good procurement and supply chain management and promote appropriate prescribing, dispensing and rational use of health products (NEW, WHO Roadmap on Access to Medicines and Vaccines)
14. Requests the High Comissioner:
To convene, before the forty-fourth session of the Human Rights Council, a full-day intersessional seminar on good practices, key challenges and new developments relevant to access to medicines and vaccines as one of the fundamental elements of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, in coordination with the World Health Organization;