WHO Launches Online Hearing On Innovative Funding Sources For R&D

The World Health Organization is soliciting new ideas for funding sources to stimulate research and development on diseases predominantly afflicting developing countries, with some in developed countries. The web-based public hearing, being held online from 7 March to 15 April, will contribute to an intergovernmental mandate to come up with ways to address the shortage of research in this area.

The May 2007 World Health Assembly adopted a global strategy on the issue and the May 2008 assembly agreed parts of the plant of action under Resolution WHA61.21, including a mandate to set up a working group on financing for R&D. The R&D financing working group was created in November and met first in January, where it agreed to invite proposals from stakeholders. The group will meet again in June, and is seeking contributions from the public in advance of that meeting through the online hearing.

“Through this process, the expert group hopes to solicit additional ideas from member states and other stakeholders for its consideration,” said Elil Renganathan, WHO secretary to the group. A progress report is due in May, with the final report due at the May 2010 Health Assembly.

The web-based public hearing is open to individuals, civil society groups, government institutions, academic and research institutions, the private sector and other interested parties, WHO said. The link to the online public hearing is: http://www.who.int/phi/public_hearings/third/en/index.html

Contributors might consider focusing on diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries, the feasibility of the financing model proposed, and the likely contribution to fostering innovation and building R&D capacity, WHO said. “Modelling the proposal on R&D needs for a specific disease or group of diseases and/or including any existing examples at national or international levels may facilitate better understanding of the concepts and ideas proposed,” it said.

WHA Resolution 61.21 mandated the director general to: “[E]stablish urgently a results-oriented and time-limited expert working group to examine current financing and coordination of research and development, as well as proposals for new and innovative sources of funding to stimulate research and development related to Type II and Type III diseases [afflicting mainly developing countries] and the specific research and development needs of developing countries in relation to Type I diseases [found in both developing and developed], and open to consideration of proposals from member states, and to submit a progress report to the sixty-second World Health Assembly [in May 2009] and the final report to the sixty-third World Health Assembly through the Executive Board.”

The Expert Working Group on R&D Financing agreed at its 12-14 January meeting to invite governments and other stakeholders to submit proposals within the context and scope of the WHA resolution on innovative sources of funding to stimulate R&D related to diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries, for consideration by the expert group. Proposals will be reviewed by members of the expert working group and will be further discussed at the second meeting of the group in June, WHO said.