Proposal asks WHA to look again at counterfeit medicines

A draft resolution asking the World Health Assembly to set up an intergovernmental working group to examine the issue of counterfeit drugs looks set to be debated today at the 63rd assembly in Geneva.

The resolution - signed by a number of countries including India - asks the World Health Organization Director General Dr. Margaret Chan to help establish the group in order to examine a number of key issues, including the relationship between WHO and IMPACT (see also Counterfeit drug debate heats up at World Health Assembly).

The resolution also asks the working group, which would be made up of WHO mamber states only, to tackle measures to ensure access to "quality, safe, efficacious and affordable medical products" and to prevent "spurious, falsely-labelled, falsified, counterfeit medical products" from reaching the public.

The working group should focus only on the health perspectives of the issue and exclude all trade and intellectual property (IP) considerations, it continues.