17 December 2024, Cairo, Egypt – In a significant step towards improving access to essential medicines, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean have signed a Memorandum of Arrangement (MoA) to establish a pooled procurement mechanism for public health supplies in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

The agreement, formalized during the 12th Global Management Meeting in Lyon, was signed by PAHO Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr and WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy.

The initiative builds on PAHO’s decades-long experience with Regional Revolving Funds which have been instrumental in enabling equitable access to vital medicines and vaccines at lower prices for Member States in the Americas.

“This agreement is a prime example of the power of cross-organizational knowledge transfer and collaboration. It is also an important step in advancing our efforts to improve access to medicines and health technologies in the Eastern Mediterranean,” said Dr Balkhy.

Under the new agreement, the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean will receive support from PAHO to develop a similar procurement system tailored to the needs of Eastern Mediterranean countries, based on the principles of solidarity, transparency and equitable access.

The agreement will facilitate technical cooperation between the two regions, with a focus on sharing best practices, advocacy, capacity building and fostering innovation. Key goals include developing a pooled procurement system, enhancing regional manufacturing and regulatory capacities, and strengthening collaboration through specialized working groups to monitor progress.