In 2019, the World Health Assembly adopted Resolution WHA 72.8 on Improving the transparency of markets for medicines, vaccines, and other health products. The resolution requests the Director-General, inter alia, “To continue its efforts to biennially convene the Fair Pricing Forum with Member States and all relevant stakeholders to discuss the affordability and transparency of prices and costs relating to health products.”

In line with this mandate, the Forum brings together diverse stakeholders, including representatives from WHO Member States, UN and international agencies, external donors and development partners, WHO collaborating centers, Academic experts, and WHO staff from Headquarters, regional and country offices. 

The general objectives are to:

• share experiences between participants about existing and planned efforts to enhance market transparency across the pharmaceutical value chain, with reference to WHA72.8, 2019;
• assess current and emerging health system challenges to ensure optimal access to affordable health products; and,
• discuss with all stakeholders the current and future potential policies and strategies for improving the affordability of essential medicines and essential health products, in light of current trends and initiatives.

The Resolution

The 2024 Forum continued the tradition of encouraging rich dialogue among various stakeholders, following the first Forum in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) in 2017, the second Forum in Johannesburg (South Africa) in 2019, and the third Forum held virtually (co-hosted with Argentina) in 2021.