11 June 2021
Geneva – In a joint declaration entitled Ending inequalities and getting on track to end AIDS by 2030 adopted on 8 June 2021, the Heads of State and Government and representatives of States and Governments assembled at the United Nations in New-York on the occasion of the UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS reviewed progress made towards ending the HIV epidemic by 2030, welcomed and encouraged global and regional efforts to define ambitious goals, but also called for urgent action.
Member States commended the progress made in expending and accelerating access to HIV treatments, recognising that multi-stakeholder partnerships and initiatives including the public health-oriented licensing mechanism of the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) have contributed to achieving results in the field of health (66/e).
Nevertheless, Member States recognised that, even though ending the HIV epidemic by 2030 is possible, urgent action is needed. Therefore, they committed to ensuring global accessibility, availability and affordability of safe, effective and quality-assured medicines including generic formulations, and to incentivising the development of innovative products, especially for children, through entities such as the Medicines Patent Pool (68/b).
MPP will continue to support global efforts towards ending the HIV epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 through providing greater and accelerated access to HIV treatments in low- and middle-income countries and stands ready to contribute further to other aspects of the HIV response such as HIV prevention by supporting wider access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and to the COVID-19 pandemic response and overall pandemic preparedness.
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The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to and facilitate the development of life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries. Through its innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments, international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders to prioritise and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.
To date, MPP has signed agreements with 22 patent holders for 13 HIV antiretrovirals, one HIV technology platform, three hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals, a tuberculosis treatment, a cancer treatment, four long-acting technologies, a post-partum haemorrhage medicine, three oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 and 16 COVID-19 technologies.
MPP was founded by Unitaid, which continues to be MPP’s main funder. MPP’s work on access to essential medicines is also funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Government of Canada, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Government of Flanders. MPP’s activities in COVID-19 are undertaken with the financial support of the Japanese Government, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the German Agency for International Cooperation, and SDC.