AHF calls for protection of lower-middle income countries

 Kathmandu, Oct. 28

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Nepal has called for the protection of the lower middle imcome countries in Asia and the world.

Emphasising Asia's critical role in advocating for equity in the World Health Organization's (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, the organisation has urged the decisionmakers to help reshape a framework that ensures all countries will be protected from future global public health crises, particularly lower-income countries in Asia and globally.

The AHF Nepal has been running advocacy as part of the global Save Our Society (SOS) campaign, said Dibya Raj Joshi, Country Programme Manager of the AHF Nepal.

The SOS campaign seeks to address the glaring inequities that have historically plagued global health responses, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As the Pandemic Agreement negotiations near their final stages, AHF emphasizes that these talks cannot conclude successfully unless equity is made an integral and binding part of the agreement," the AHF Nepal said in a statement. The current proposal, favoring high-income countries and pharmaceutical companies, fails to adequately address the needs of low- and middle-income countries.

"The COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep vulnerabilities in global healthcare, partícularly across Asía, highlighting the need for more equitable and decentralized health systems. As discussions around the WHO Pandemic Agreement near their end, Asia must champion a framework that promotes technology transfer and decentralizes the production of vaccines and other lifesaving commodities," he said.

According to him, this strategic shift would safeguard underserved regions in the Global South and secure Asia's health and economic stability.

By advocating for equity and building regional pharmaceutical capabilities, Asian nations can ensure collective resilience in future pandemics. Now is the time for Asia to lead this global effort, ensuring a safer and healthier future for all, added Joshi.

According to the AHF Nepal, issues necessary to create global health equity in the WHO Agreement are facilitating regional production capacity, unrestricted technology transfer, long-term binding financial commitments from high-income countries to support pandemic preparedness, and effective participation of civil society.

There should be oncrete mechanisms to facilitate the local production of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics in the Global South, said Radheshyam Shrestha, Programme Manager at the AHF Nepal.

This requires a binding roadmap for the transfer of knowledge, technology, and long-term sustainable financing, as mainted in tje agreement.

The pandemic fund should be of a long-term nature and it must support the lower middle-income countries in addressing emergencies, lessening damage and create preparedness plan, said Joshi.

He said that the fund should be allocated on the basis of the size of population.

AHF the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 2 million clients in 48 countries worldwide. 

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 29 October 2024.