
Low
Achieving this outcome requires supporting and promoting cooperation with Member States and relevant stakeholders in efforts to generate enabling policies, strategies, and ecosystems for addressing access barriers, in an integrated and coherent manner across the full life cycle of health technologies, increasing regional innovation and production capacity, strengthening regulatory systems, supporting evidence-based decision-making, competition, transparency, and rational use. This will also require the definition of strategies across all categories of relevant health technologies, including medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, medical equipment, and other pharmaceutical and health services, such as radiological, blood, and organ transplantation services. Specifically, the following actions will be implemented:
- Update and support the implementation of policies and strategies that improve timely access to quality, affordable, and effective health technologies, including medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and radiological, pharmaceutical, transplant, and blood services to prevent, diagnose, treat, eliminate, and palliate diseases and other medical conditions through a comprehensive, coherent, and integrated approach.
- Foster regional innovation, research and development, and the production of health technologies, supporting enabling environments and ecosystems for sustainable public-health-driven impact.
- Promote adequate financing and financial protection mechanisms to foster innovation and access to health technologies and services, including the progressive elimination of out-of-pocket expenditures, based on national public health priorities and the context of each health system. Support comprehensive strategies to address the high price and cost of some health technologies, including through the promotion of competition and evidence-based decision-making.
- Promote the development and strengthening of national, regional, and subregional regulatory systems and harmonization processes that can ensure access, regional production, and the quality, safety, and effectiveness of health technologies and services, including medicines, vaccines, and medical devices.
- Promote sustainable, efficient, and transparent public procurement mechanisms, including PAHO’s Regional Revolving Funds, that limit fragmentation, improve availability, and take advantage of economies of scale to increase access to essential and strategic health technologies.
Resolution to be proposed – Policy for Expanding Equitable Access to High-cost and High-price Health Technologies (2025)
Resolution CSP30.R12 – Policy to Strengthen National Regulatory Systems for Medicines and Other Health Technologies (Document CSP30/11) (2022)
Resolution CD59.R3 – Increasing Production Capacity for Essential Medicines and Health Technologies (Document CD59/8) (2021)
Resolution CD57.R11 – Strategy and Plan of Action on Donation and Equitable Access to Organ, Tissue, and Cell Transplants 2019-2030 (Document CD57/11) (2019)
Resolution CD55.R12 – Access and Rational Use of Strategic and High-cost Medicines and Other Health Technologies (Document CD55/10, Rev. 1) (2016)
Resolution CD52.R5 – Principles of the Pan American Health Organization Revolving Fund for Vaccine Procurement (Document CD52/17) (2013)
Resolution CSP28.R15 – Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources: International Basic Safety Standards (Document CSP28/17, Rev. 1) (2012)
Resolution CD48.R15 – Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property: A Regional Perspective (Document CD48/18) (2008)
Resolution CD45.R7 – Access to Medicines (Document CD45/10) (2004)