The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Strategic Advisory Group on Increasing Regional Innovation and Production Capacities for Medicines and other Health Technologies. This “Call for “Experts” provides information about the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) in question, the expert profiles being sought, the process to express interest, and the process of selection.
Issued on: 4 April 2024
Deadline: 17 May 2024
Background
Through the adoption of the Pan American Health Organization’s 59th Directing Council Document CD59/8 and the corresponding resolution CD59.R3 in 2021, Member States have requested PAHO’s support to improve and expand production capacities for essential medical products including vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. The resolution aims at enabling timely access to essential health products while ensuring sustainability through increasing regional production capacities. It covers all critical areas, including research and development (R&D), regulatory oversight, strengthening enabling functions and multisectoral policies, and with a focus on manufacturing sustainability and access.
In response to this mandate, PAHO created a Special Program, Innovation and Regional Production Platform (RP) within the Department of Innovation, Access to Medicines and Health Technologies (IMT). The Regional Production Platform fosters research and incentivizes the development and manufacturing of quality-assured health technologies in the Americas to improve equitable access, and also provides technical cooperation to Member States and facilitates dialogue and information exchange among Member States, international organizations and other partners, convening stakeholders to promote regional coordination, ensuring that the public health perspective is central to the agenda of health technologies production.
In response to the COVID-19 emergency, PAHO established an Advisory Committee with a specific focus on the production of health technologies for response to COVID-19. After the pandemic emergency was over, there was a need to establish a new body (advisory group) with a broader scope, emphasizing preparedness for future emergencies and addressing the regional public health priorities.
The Strategic Advisory Group on Increasing Regional Innovation and Production Capacities for Medicines and other Health Technologies will act as an advisory body to PAHO to advance the Organization’s agenda in this field.
Functions of the Strategic Advisory Group on Increasing Regional Innovation and Production Capacities for Medicines and other Health Technologies
In its capacity as an advisory body to PAHO, the SAG shall have the following functions:
- To provide guidance regarding priority initiatives for action, focusing on the development and production of health technologies, required to address public health priorities in the Region, including for improved public health emergencies preparedness and response.
- To analyse the global and regional context through the exchange and dissemination of national and international initiatives, policies, and experiences.
- To share lessons learned, challenges within the regional context, opportunities, and policy options to guide sustained and increased research, development, and production.
- To advise on the coordination of action and cooperation among partners, including the health, science and technology, and industrial sectors.
- To advise on critical elements in the life cycle of the production of needed health technologies, including R&D, the regulatory environment and framework, national policies for sustainability, and the rational allocation and use of manufactured products.
Operations of the Strategic Advisory Group on Increasing Regional Innovation and Production Capacities for Medicines and other Health Technologies
The SAG shall normally meet at least twice each year, with one in-person meeting and one virtual meeting with the working languages being English and Spanish. However, PAHO may convene additional meetings. SAG meetings may be held in person (at PAHO headquarters or another location, as determined by PAHO) or virtually, via video or teleconference.
Who can express interest?
The Strategic Advisory Group on Increasing Regional Innovation and Production Capacities for Medicines and other Health Technologies will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to innovation and production of health technologies. Approximately 15 members may be selected.
PAHO welcomes expressions of interest from:
- Policy makers, experts, public health advocates, researchers, practitioners, and other professionals from either public and private sector, with national or international expertise in the following areas:
- Health technology research, development and innovation
- Health technology transfer and manufacturing
- Health technology access
- Health technologies regulation
- Health economics and financing
- Health law, policies, licensing and intellectual property.
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the Strategic Advisory Group on Increasing Regional Innovation and Production Capacities for Medicines and other Health Technologies, please submit the following documents by 17 May, 11:59pm, Washington, DC time to hqproductionplatform@paho.org using the subject line “Expression of interest for the Strategic Advisory Group on Increasing Regional Innovation and Production Capacities for Medicines and other Health Technologies”:
- A cover letter, indicating your motivation to apply, your expertise in the subject matter, and how you satisfy the selection criteria. Please note that, if selected, membership will be in a personal capacity. Therefore, do not use the letterhead or other identification of your employer;
- Your curriculum vitae; and
- A signed and completed Declaration of Interests form for PAHO/WHO Experts (PDF, 279.47KB).
After submission, your expression of interest will be reviewed by PAHO. Due to an expected high volume of interest, only selected individuals will be informed.
Important information about the selection processes and conditions of appointment
Members of PAHO SAGs must be free of any real, potential, or apparent conflicts of interest. To this end, applicants are required to complete the PAHO Declaration of Interests for PAHO Experts, and the selection as a member of a SAG is, amongst other things, dependent on PAHO determining that there is no conflict of interest or that any identified conflicts could be appropriately managed (in addition to PAHO’s evaluation of an applicant’s experience, expertise and motivation and other criteria).
All SAG members will serve in their individual expert capacity and shall not represent any governments, any commercial industries or entities, any research, academic or civil society organizations, or any other bodies, entities, institutions, or organizations. They are expected to fully comply with the Code of Conduct for PAHO Experts. SAG members will be expected to sign and return a completed confidentiality undertaking prior to the beginning of the first meeting.
At any point during the selection process, telephone interviews may be scheduled between an applicant and PAHO’s Secretariat to enable PAHO to ask questions relating to the applicant’s experience and expertise and/or to assess whether the applicant meets the criteria for membership in the relevant SAG. The selection of members of the SAGs will be made by PAHO in its sole discretion, taking into account the following (non-exclusive) criteria: relevant technical expertise; experience in international and country policy work; communication skills; and ability to work constructively with people from different cultural backgrounds and orientations. The selection of SAG members will also take into account the need for diverse perspectives from different regions, especially from low and middle-income countries, and for gender balance.
If selected by PAHO, proposed members will be sent an invitation. Appointment as a member of a SAG will be subject to the proposed member returning to PAHO the countersigned copy of this document, as well as the Declaration of Interests Form and the confidentiality undertaking mentioned above.
PAHO reserves the right to accept or reject any expression of interest, to annul the open call process and reject all expressions of interest at any time without incurring any liability to the affected applicant or applicants and without any obligation to inform the affected applicant or applicants of the grounds for PAHO's action. PAHO may also decide, at any time, not to proceed with the establishment of the SAG, disband an existing SAG or modify the work of the SAG.
PAHO shall not in any way be obliged to reveal, or discuss with any applicant, how an expression of interest was assessed, or to provide any other information relating to the evaluation/selection process or to state the reasons for not choosing a member.
PAHO may publish the names and a short biography of the selected individuals on the PAHO internet.
SAG members will not be remunerated for their services in relation to the SAG or otherwise. Travel and accommodation expenses of SAG members to participate in SAG meetings will be covered by PAHO in accordance with its applicable policies, rules, and procedures.
The appointment will be limited in time as indicated in the letter of appointment.
If you have any questions about this “Call for experts”, please write to hqproductionplatform@paho.org well before the applicable deadline.