Montevideo, Uruguay, October 19, 2017 (PAHO/WHO) - The Health Systems and Services Department from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/HSS) participated in a panel discussion about "Success story on equitable access to essential medicines and technology: Innovative solutions, best practices and lessons learned", at the Global Conference on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) in Montevideo, Uruguay. James Fitzgerald, Director of PAHO/HSS, shared the experience of PAHO Strategic Fund (SF) as an innovative approach to promote access to medicines through pooled procurement mechanisms in the Region.
"The Strategic Fund provides an innovative platform for countries in the Americas to collectively impact market dynamics for key medicines and other health technologies" said James Fitzgerald. "It is a mechanism in which PAHO works jointly with participating countries to boost national capacities in demand planning and supply chain management, including the appropriate use of medicines" he added.
Fitzgerald also presented on the history of PAHO in promoting access to vaccines and HIV, TB and malaria medicines through the PAHO Revolving Fund Mechanisms, and an analysis of the feasibility of replicating these processes for NCD medicines, in particular for oncological, immunosupressors and insulin.The activity was moderated by Steven Shongwe (Medical Officer of Regional Office for Africa, WHO) and the panelists were Eduardo Cazap (President of the Latin American and Caribbean Society of Medical Oncology), James Fitzgerald (Director HSS/PAHO/WHO), César Nuñez (Regional Director, UNAIDS) and Usha Sriram (Endocrinologist, Aceer Clinic, Chennai).
At the Global Conference world leaders endorsed the Montevideo Roadmap 2018-2030 on NCDs as a Sustainable Priority, which highlights the need for coordinated and coherent action from all sectors and the whole of society to beat the NCDs.
The Montevideo Roadmap identifies a range of challenges, including the need for health systems to improve NCD prevention, diagnosis and management, as part of efforts to achieve universal health and reduce health inequities. The Roadmap will guide global preparations for next year's United Nations General Assembly third High-level Meeting on NCDs.
Links:
Governments commit to reduce suffering and deaths from noncommunicable diseases.
Montevideo Roadmap 2018-2030 on NCDs as a Sustainable Development Priority
PAHO Strategic Fund