National regulatory authorities (NRAs) for medical products are crucial for protecting
public health by ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of medical products. Access
to quality-assured medical products is fundamental to achieving universal health
coverage (UHC) and the other health-related targets of the Sustainable Development
Goals.
The NRAs in the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region work together
through the Western Pacific Regional Alliance of National Regulatory Authorities for Medical Products (WPRA), which is a voluntary cooperation mechanism convened by the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific since 2011. The WPRA aims to promote and support strategies to strengthen the capacities of NRAs by promoting cooperation, reliance and effective regulation.
Meeting participants will discuss topics on local production oversight, legislation and
regulatory frameworks, substandard and falsified medicines sold online, the WHO global
benchmarking process and the regulatory components of the Pandemic Agreement. The
meeting will also highlight the importance of quality assurance of medical products, reflecting how many Pacific island countries place a greater focus on building institutional capacity to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines, rather than on establishing an overarching regulatory system and formalized regulatory authority.
WPRA members will also review progress of the WPRA workplan and discuss further work to be conducted to achieve both short- and long-term objectives.
