[Ip-health] $2 billion and $147 billion: WHO releases detailed costing estimates for implementing WHO IGWG plan of action

[thiru@keionline.org]

http://www.keionline.org/blogs/2009/01/22/2-billion-and-147-billion-who-rel=
eases-detailed-costing-estimates-for-implementing-who-igwg-plan-of-action/

$2 billion and $147 billion: WHO releases detailed costing estimates for
implementing WHO IGWG plan of action

On 21 January 2009, WHO released a document (EB124/16 Add.2) relating to
the global strategy and plan of action of the public health, innovation
and intellectual strand of its work entitled =93Proposed time frames and
estimated funding needs=93. This document is a costing exercise to =93estim=
ate
funding needs for the implementation of the plan=94. The funding needs
document contains a detailed breakdown in Table 1 on the funding required
from 2009 to 20015 to =93carry out the activities associated with each
specific action at two levels: national and international=94 with this
caveat (=94Values may not sum as expected because of rounding=94).

This document estimates that the total cost by element (excluding research
and development) of implementing the plan of action is $2.064 billion US
dollars. National level costs constitute 60% of the costs of this $2
billion figure. This document gives detailed estimates of most of the
discrete elements contained in the plan of action. For example, $1,980,870
has been estimated to implement element 2.3(c) of the plan of action which
states =93encourage further exploratory discussions on the utility of
possible instruments or mechanisms for essential health and biomedical
R&D, including inter alia, an essential health and biomedical R&D treaty=94=
.
The proposed time frame for this action is 2008 to 2010.

On element 4.3 (a) which calls for an examination of the =93feasibility of
voluntary patent pools of upstream and downstream technologies to promote
innovation of and access to health products and medical devices=94, the
document estimates $1 million is needed to implement this item by 2015.

Element 5.3 (a) states =93explore and, where appropriate, promote a range o=
f
incentive schemes for research and development including addressing, where
appropriate, the de-linkage of the cost of research and development and
the price of health products, for example through award of prizes, with
the objective of addressing diseases which disproportionately affect
developing countries=94. The budget line for this action item with an end
date of 2015 is linked to the budget line in 2.2 (c) which has an
estimated funding need of $70,508,930.

On R&D, the funding document states that the

    =93total costs of undertaking the research and development, innovation
and technology transfer, including education of workers and building
of infrastructure, might be as US$ 147 000 million [$147 billion US
dollars]. The grand total for implementing the global strategy and
plan costed here for all Member States from 2009 to 2015 is of the
order of US$ 149 000 million, averaging US$ 21 000 million per year=94.

    <SNIP>

    Currently, about US$ 160 000 million per year is spent globally on
health research and development, of which only about 3% is directed at
diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries. The cost
of US$ 147 000 million over seven years for the global strategy and
plan of action will meant that, over the same period, 12% of the
expected global total of research and development spending will now be
used against these diseases=94.

Posted in I+A, innovation plus access, Politics and Advocacy, Prizes.