Sign in Subscribe
International trade

Leveraging Public Procurement to Address Health Challenges: A Key Strategy for Innovation and Access

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

In a significant joint initiative, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) will hold a technical webinar on July 3 to explore the potential of public procurement as a powerful mechanism to address health challenges. The webinar aims to share recent experiences and evidence on public procurement of health products, with a focus on leveraging public procurement to incentivize innovation and enhance access to health products.

Key Takeaways:

  • Public procurement policies and mechanisms can drive innovation, reduce costs, and promote partnerships by aligning procurement approaches with health and industrial priorities.
  • Effective public procurement procedures depend on access to high-quality and up-to-date information on health product markets and a clear understanding of the needs and the ability of suppliers to deliver quality products at affordable prices.
  • A diverse range of approaches have been taken by public sector procurers to meet these goals, including stimulating domestic research and development (R&D) and strengthening supply chain resilience and manufacturing capacity.
  • The webinar will provide an opportunity for different stakeholders to share perspectives and discuss best practices in leveraging public procurement to incentivize innovation and enhance access to health products.
  • The WHO-WIPO-WTO Trilateral Cooperation has organized capacity building activities on current issues to enhance the flow of updated and technical information related to innovation and access to health technologies.
  • The core objective of the Trilateral Cooperation workshops and webinars is to strengthen the capacity of policymakers and experts in member governments by facilitating access to expertise, data, and evidence and to deepen discussions of critical issues at the intersection of public health, intellectual property (IP), and trade.
  • The webinar will feature invited speakers who will exchange perspectives and discuss best practices in leveraging public procurement to incentivize innovation and enhance access to health products.

Statistics:

  • The joint webinar on "Public Procurement as a Powerful Mechanism to Address Health Challenges" will take place on July 3.
  • The WHO, WIPO, and WTO have organized capacity building activities on current issues to enhance the flow of updated and technical information related to innovation and access to health technologies.
  • The core objective of the Trilateral Cooperation workshops and webinars is to strengthen the capacity of policymakers and experts in member governments by facilitating access to expertise, data, and evidence.

Sources:

  • WHO: "WHO, WIPO and WTO to organize technical webinar on public procurement as a key leverage for innovation and access to health products". Geneva, Switzerland: WHO, no date.
  • WIPO: "WIPO, WHO and WTO Trilateral Cooperation on Health Innovation". Geneva, Switzerland: WIPO, no date.
  • WTO: "World Health Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization, and World Trade Organization to hold joint technical webinar on public procurement and health challenges". Geneva, Switzerland: WTO, no date.

Read more