“Considering that Member States recognized in resolution WHA60.29 and WHA67.20 that medical devices are indispensable for health care delivery but their selection, regulation and use present enormous challenges, the 3rd WHO Global Forum on Medical Devices is to be presented 10 years later to discuss the achievements that have been made in the field and the enormous challenges in low and middle income countries. This will also serve as an opportunity to share the WHO EMP strategy in the framework of Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.
WHO organized the 1st Global Forum in Bangkok in 2010 and the 2nd in Geneva in 2013, which had around 700 participants from 110 Member States. These fora have been the primary setting for dissemination and sharing of information on medical devices for Global Health. The programme includes presentation of best practices, challenges, and new tools for innovation, regulation, assessment, and management (procurement, technical specifications, donations, maintenance and appropriate safe use) of medical devices, as well as presentation the list of medical devices by health care facility, disease or clinical interventions.
The 3rd Global Forum on Medical Devices will be organized in Geneva, 10 to 12 May 2017. It will take place in the Geneva Conference Center. It will include: plenary , panels, parallel sessions, workshops, exhibition and poster sessions. These will build on the success of the 1st Global Forum in Bangkok, 2013 and 2nd Global Forum in Geneva 2013
Objectives of the meeting:
- To define methods of increasing access to priority medical devices under Universal Health Coverage in compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals
- To share evidence of best practices in regulating, assessment and management of medical devices
- To demonstrate development and use of innovative appropriate affordable technologies to respond to global health priorities
- To share WHO tools and guidelines on medical devices for better implementation
- To present the outcomes of the implementation of the World Health Assembly resolutions on medical devices and the EMP strategy for 2030″
Source: WHO