EPN - Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network

The Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on Intellectual Property (IP), Innovation and Health was established under the World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolution 59.24 and tasked to draw up a global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation, essential health research and IP rights on access to essential medicines for diseases specifically found in developing countries.

The Africa Civil Society (CS) Coalition was set up in August 2007 to develop an African civil society position on Intellectual Property (IP), Innovation and Health. EPN is a partner of the Coalition which incorporates various organizations. In August 2007 a statement was drafted and presented to the African Ministers of Health meeting held in September in Brazzaville, Congo, and also at the second IGWG public hearing in Switzerland in November 2007.

The most recent meeting, which was attended by the EPN administration and networking officer, was held on 3rd and 4th April 2008 in Arusha, Tanzania. During this meeting the Coalition developed a statement (view the statement in PDF [122Kb]) which will be presented during the next IGWG meeting scheduled for 28th April to 3rd May 2008.

A main agenda for this upcoming meeting is the development of a global plan of action which will be presented to the World Health Assembly (WHA) scheduled for May in 2008.

The ongoing IGWG negotiations are addressing a number of important issues such as global governance, financing for essential health research and development, trade agreements and relations, innovation policies, and access to medicines, and crucially, ethical and ideological issues including human rights.

The main beneficiaries of these negotiations will be poor people from developing countries. African Member States and their partners must take action to ensure the needs and interests of their people are effectively represented in this process.

View the background paper on the Africa Coalition on IGWG in PDF [95 Kb].