The World Health Organization (WHO), with support of the Ministry of Health of Argentina, is organizing the 2021 Fair Pricing Forum. Due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the Forum will take place virtually between 13 and 22 April 2021, on selected days (2-3 hours virtual sessions/day).
This meeting is the third forum that focuses on improving access to medicines and health products through fair pricing, following the inaugural forum held in the Netherlands in 2017 (10–11 May) and the second forum in South Africa in 2019 (11-13 April). In 2019, the World Health Assembly adopted Resolution WHA 72.8 on Improving the transparency of markets for medicines, vaccines, and other health products. The resolution requests the Director-General, inter alia, “To continue its efforts to biennially convene the Fair Pricing Forum with Member States and all relevant stakeholders to discuss the affordability and transparency of prices and costs relating to health products”.
In line with this resolution, the Forum will bring to together representatives from Member States and relevant stakeholders from civil society, academia, private health sector and UN agencies, to achieve the following three objectives:
1. To share countries’ experiences, including from the COVID-19 pandemic, in ensuring affordability and transparency of prices and costs of health products.
2. To advance discussion and knowledge on approaches and system factors pertaining to the pricing and R&D of pharmaceutical products for enhancing affordability, transparency, and innovation, and achieving health sustainable development goals.
3. To activate support for countries to achieve more affordable and fairer access to pharmaceutical products during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
