A regional consultation meeting on increasing coherence within national policies, legal frameworks and decision-making processes for better access to and delivery of new health technologies was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 21-23 April 2015. The participants included high-level government representatives from 12 African countries from a wide range of agencies with responsibilities for health, trade, intellectual property and science and technology. In this blog post Dr. Marie-Goretti Harakeye, Head of Division of the Social Affairs Department at the African Union Commission, and Lebogang Motlana, Director of the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa, reflect on the unique opportunity created by this meeting to strengthen policy mechanisms and catalyze action to increase access to essential new health technologies. Read more |