WHO CEWG process: Identification of Health R&D Demonstration Projects

3 Dec 2013

WHO Member States from every regions are currently going through a selection process of “demonstration projects” in order to provide evidences on innovative mechanisms to fund and coordinate public health R&D to address unmet medical needs of developing countries and to contribute to further discussion on a sustainable global framework as recommended by the Expert Working Group on Financing and Coordination (CEWG).

DNDi has been involved in the overall CEWG process. Specifically, DNDi has submitted two candidate demonstration projects with the aim to demonstrate that projects can be optimized through guiding principles such as cross-regional collaboration of existing networks, open-innovation and knowledge sharing, equitable access to new products, and sustainable funding secured through existing and new funding mechanisms. DNDi is also partner in another candidate demonstration project, on cutaneous leishmaniasis, submitted by the US Food and Drug Administration and Osaka University.

On December 3-4 2013, after weeks of consultations, MSs and experts assessed 22 proposals for the identification of health R&D Demonstration Projects, and finally selected 7+1 projects – including DNDi and partners’ project on Visceral Leishmaniasis.

At the end of the December meeting, MSs requested that the secretariat seek further elaboration from the original proposers of the 7+1 short-listed proposals on innovative aspects of their projects, and that the so-called “addendum” were reviewed at the 134^th meeting of the WHO Executive Board (EB) on January 20-25 January 2014.

Summaries of the 7+1 proposals as well as addendum submitted to the WHO Secretariat

Finally, as the outcome of the EB, Members Sates requested the WHO secretariat to “consider the demonstration projects in the order listed (..) and taking into account the additional information received with the participation of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the CEWG, as appropriate start convening virtual or direct meetings with stakeholders interested in funding and/or implementing the projects (…)”. Report of these initial steps will be released at the World Health Assembly for further consideration.