E-DRUG: WHO-EB Resolution on Revised Drug Strategy

[Hai@hai.antenna.nl]

E-DRUG: WHO-EB Resolution on Revised Drug Strategy
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Dear E-Druggers,

The 101st session of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Executive 
Board (EB) ended with the nomination of Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland as 
the next WHO Director-General.

E-Druggers will also be pleased to see the outcome of the EB discussion
on WHO's Revised Drug Strategy. In a resolution, the Board urges Member
States to reaffirm their commitment to develop, implement and monitor 
national drug policies. The Board expressed its concern that new world 
trade agreements may have a negative impact on local manufacturing 
capacity, access to and price of pharmaceuticals in developing countries. 
The full text of the resolution, which is to be considered by the World 
Health Assembly in May, is attached. Most EB documents are available full 
text at the WHO website (http://www.who.org).

__________________________________________________
RESOLUTION OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE WHO

101st Session  EB101.R24

Agenda item 9 27th January 1998


REVISED DRUG STRATEGY

The Executive Board

RECOMMENDS to the Fifty-first World Health Assembly the adoption of
the following resolution:

The Fifty-first World Health Assembly,

Recalling resolutions WHA39.27, WHA41.16, WHA43.20, WHA45.27,
WHA47.12, WHA47.13, WHA47.16, WHA 47.17, and WHA49.14 ;

Having considered the report of the Director-General on the revised
drug strategy; (1)

Noting the activities of WHO to further the implementation of the
revised drug strategy, in particular through support to the
development and implementation of national drug policies; the strategy
to review and assess the effectiveness of the WHO Ethical Criteria for
Medicinal Drug Promotion; the flow of market information; guidelines
for drug donations; and model drug information;

Recognizing with satisfaction the progress made, and approving WHO's
comprehensive response to current and new challenges in the
pharmaceutical sector;

Commending the strong leadership shown by WHO in promoting the
essential drugs concept and national drug policies, which are
contributing to the rational use of resources in the pharmaceutical
sector and to improved health care;

Noting with satisfaction that a number of Member States have adopted
guidelines for drug donations that were based on the interagency
guidelines issued by WHO, but concerned that inappropriate drug
donations, such as donations of expired, mislabelled, inessential
products, continue to be common;

Concerned about the situation in which one third of the world's
population has no guaranteed access to essential drugs, in which new
world trade agreements may have a negative impact on local
manufacturing capacity and the access to and prices of pharmaceuticals
in developing countries, and in which poor quality pharmaceutical raw
materials and finished products continue to move in international
trade;

Concerned also that drugs continue to be irrationally used by
prescribers, dispensers and the general public, and because unethical
promotion in developed and developing countries and a lack of access
to independent, scientifically validated drug information contribute
to such abuses,

1. URGES Member States:

 (1) to reaffirm their commitment to develop, implement and monitor
 national drug policies to ensure equitable access to essential drugs;

 (2) to ensure that public health rather than commercial interests
 have primacy in pharmaceutical and health policies and to review
 their options under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of
 Intellectual Property Rights to safeguard access to essential drugs;

 (3) to establish and enforce regulations that ensure good uniform
 quality assurance standards for all pharmaceutical materials and
 products manufactured in, imported to, exported from, or in transit
 through their countries;

 (4) to enact and enforce legislation or regulations in accordance
 with the principles of the WHO Ethical Criteria for Medicinal Drug
 Promotion, and to monitor drug promotion in collaboration with
 interested parties;

 (5) to develop or maintain national guidelines governing drug
 donations that are compatible with the interagency guidelines issued
 by WHO and to work with all interested parties to promote adherence
 to such guidelines;

 (6) to promote the rational use of drugs through the provision of
 independent, up-to-date and comparative drug information, and to
 integrate the rational use of drugs and information about commercial
 marketing strategies into training for health practitioners at all
 levels;

 (7) to promote and support consumer education on the rational use of
 drugs and its inclusion into school curricula;

 (8) to evaluate progress regularly, making use of indicators
 developed by WHO or other suitable mechanisms;

 (9) to continue their funding and material support for the revised
 drug strategy especially by the provision of extrabudgetary resources
 to WHO;


2. REQUESTS the Director-General:

 (1) to support Member States in their efforts to develop and
 implement policies and programmes that achieve the objectives of the
 revised drug strategy, including the development of tools, guidelines
 and methodologies for evaluation and monitoring;

 (2) to adopt a comprehensive strategy to implement the WHO Ethical
 Criteria for Medicinal Drug Promotion and to continue to review its
 effectiveness with all interested parties;

 (3) to extend the guidelines incorporated in the WHO Certification
 Scheme on the Quality of Pharmaceutical Products Moving in
 International Commerce to cover pharmaceutical starting materials;
 develop and disseminate uniform guidelines on the regulatory control,
 export, import and transit conditions of pharmaceutical products; 
 and develop standards of practice for entities involved in
 international trade in pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical raw
 materials;

 (4) to strengthen and expand the provision of independent information
 on market prices of raw materials of assured quality for production
 of essential drugs;

 (5) to continue the development and dissemination, also using
 electronic media such as the Internet, of independent information on
 pharmaceutical product safety and instances of counterfeit drugs or
 medicines, on drug selection and on rational prescribing;

 (6) to assist Member States to analyse the pharmaceutical and public
 health implications of agreements overseen by the World Trade
 Organization and to develop appropriate policies and regulatory
 measures;

 (7) to review and update the revised drug strategy to reflect current
 and continued challenges in the pharmaceutical sector and the
 principles articulated in the renewed health-for-all policy;

 (8) to report comprehensively to the Fifty-third World Health
 Assembly on progress achieved and problems encountered in the
 implementation and renewal of WHO's revised drug strategy, with
 recommendations for action.

Sixteenth meeting, 27 January 1998
EB101/SR/16

(1)   Document EB101/10, Chapter VII
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