The Steering Committee of the WHO Member State mechanism on SF Medical Products met recently to discuss the status of medical products around the world.

The Steering Committee of the WHO Member State mechanism on SF Medical Products met recently to discuss the status of medical products around the world. The discussion was chaired by Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr Chan welcomed participants, including ministers of health and other high-level representatives from the Member States and observer organizations, as well as Secretariat staff and invited speakers. She noted that SF medical products play an important role in supporting health systems and delivering quality healthcare at an affordable cost.

Suggested updates to resolution WHA71.21

• The Steering Committee made several suggestions for updates to resolution WHA71.21, including: 
• 1. urging all countries to strengthen their national regulatory systems for medical products; 
• 2. calling on all countries to promote awareness of falsified medical products and help people identify them; 
• 3. asking countries to take measures to prevent the sale of falsified medical products; 
• 4. urging countries to adopt a risk-based approach when regulating online sales of medical products; 
• 5. asking countries to promote cross-border cooperation in investigating and prosecuting those who manufacture or sell falsified medical products; and 
• 6. calling on all countries to support the work of the WHO in combating falsified medical products.

Other recommendations from the report of the Chairperson

The report from the Chairperson noted that there has been significant progress made in recent years, but more needs to be done to ensure that all people have access to quality medical care. The committee made several recommendations, including: 

1. -That member states increase their efforts to improve access to medical products
2. -That member states strengthen their regulatory systems
3. -That member states work together to improve the quality of medical products

Next steps

The Steering Committee decided that the next steps for the WHO Member State mechanism on SF Medical Products would be to gather more data from member states about their medical product needs and gaps.

 They also want to better understand how countries are currently procuring and using medical products, to make recommendations about how the system could be improved. In addition, they will be looking at ways to streamline the process of getting new medical products registered and approved for use in member countries. 

Finally, they will be working on a communication strategy to raise awareness about the work of the WHO Member State mechanism on SF Medical Products and its importance for global health.