Description
The workshop lays emphasis on building capacity to analyse and undertake policy choices in the area of intersection between trade and public health. Presentations, discussions and practical exercises will therefore look at relevant trade agreements as part of the wider action to address needs specific to public health. In particular, the workshop will cover key factors that impact on innovation and access in the pharmaceutical sector, including: Public health determinants; intellectual property rights; pricing and procurement policies; competition policy and rules; tariffs, quotas and licensing; and health services. A separate section will deal with regulatory issues, including the approval, quality control and effectiveness of medicines, the protection of clinical test data under the TRIPS Agreement and health-related measures in the TBT and SPS Committees. This will be complemented by a series of discussions dedicated to specific, cross-cutting themes linking trade agreements to topical issues, such as non-communicable diseases, environment and health, as well as nutrition. Finally, a number of exercises and case studies will invite participants to examine key thematic issues, including designing an IP framework in support of R&D, local production of medicines and technology transfer, the use of IP flexibilities in order to procure medicines, as well as of competition tools to achieve public health objectives and the drafting of health-related TBT/SPS measures. The main purpose is to improve the understanding of trade agreements as they relate to public health. Participants will be supported in the use of these agreements and the policy options therein, in particular through the provision of information pertaining to their implementation, and the analysis of issues related to the legislative and institutional framework for their operation at the domestic level. The workshop will also provide opportunities to exchange views and