Potential elements of the WHO global R&D treaty: Tailoring solutions for disparate contexts

Summary: Last week, the WHO Executive Board held the latest in a series of meetings to discuss the report for negotiation on a global treaty for funding and coordination of medical research and development. As proposed, the treaty would commit Member States to spend at least 0.01% of their gross domestic product on R&D that addresses the special health needs of developing countries, and it would require at least 20% of this funding to be spent through a single pooled financing mechanism. However, the treaty proposal had encountered substantial opposition from developed countries at an open-ended meeting of WHO Member States last November.