The GPMB met by teleconference on 13 April 2023. The meeting was chaired by GPMB Co-Chair Joy Phumaphi and GPMB Interim Co-Chair Bente Angell-Hansen.
The meeting also included presentations by invited guests: Lav Agarwal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India; Bruce Aylward, Senior Advisor to the Director-General and Assistant Director-General and interim, External Relations and Governance, WHO; Heulwen Philpot, Head of International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat; and John-Arne Røttingen, Ambassador for Global Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway.
1. Welcome and introductions
The Co-Chair welcomed all participants including the invited guests.
2. Review of progress on GPMB Calls to Action: Equitable access to countermeasures
The main agenda item was to review progress on GPMB Calls to Action and assess the development of an end-to-end platform for equitable access to countermeasures, measured against tests of equity, coherence, and accountability. The Board had the privilege of inviting guests who provided valuable insights into different aspects related to the development of a countermeasures platform.
- Lav Argwhal, who facilitates the G20 Health Working Group under the Indian Presidency of the G20 this year, presented the ongoing work on a Medical Countermeasures Mechanisms, emphasizing the importance of focusing on where agreement can be reached through a ‘minimum viable product’ approach, and building on the lessons learned from existing initiatives.
- John Arne Rottingen from Norway, co-chair of the ACT-A Facilitation Council, together with Olive Shisana (who was unfortunately not available for the meeting and sent her regrets), organized the recent meeting in Johannesburg on the development of an equitable and sustainable countermeasures platform. He highlighted that all stakeholders had the same goal and that the process for building consensus was critical to the success of any proposed idea or concept.
- Bruce Aylward is facilitating the WHO design and consultation process for the countermeasures platform, which brings together these different initiatives, and aims to launch a new working interim platform in September this year. He commended the GPMB's manifesto and tests and encouraged further follow-up and engagement of the GPMB in the design and implementation of the platform.
- Heulwen Philpott, who heads the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat, along with fellow Board Member Victor Dzau, outlined the progress and next steps of the G7 100 Days Mission initiative.
Following these presentations, discussions scratched the surface of many issues, including the challenges of addressing fundamental impediments to equitable access, such as trade restrictions and financing, the importance of meaningful and effective engagement with the private sector, the critical need for coherence and coordination, and the appropriate role for the GPMB in monitoring the development and implementation of the interim platform. These areas merited further reflection and discussion within the Board prior to finalizing conclusions.
3. Updates on developments
The Secretariat presented brief updates on the UN High-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, the Monitoring Framework and development plan for the GPMB 2023 report on the State of the World’s Preparedness, and the GPMB monitoring architecture proposal. Board members were requested to provide written feedback on these updates as it was not possible to discuss these updates due to time constraints.
4. Close of meeting
The Interim Co-Chair thanked all participants. The next Board meeting will be a virtual teleconference on 22 June 2023.