{"id":232743,"date":"2025-06-03T07:42:19","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T11:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldpatientsalliance.org\/?post_type=news&p=232743"},"modified":"2026-01-02T09:44:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T09:44:15","slug":"wpa-calls-for-urgent-patient-centered-action-as-who-delays-final-report-on-substandard-and-falsified-medicines","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/worldpatientsalliance.org\/staging\/news\/wpa-calls-for-urgent-patient-centered-action-as-who-delays-final-report-on-substandard-and-falsified-medicines\/","title":{"rendered":"WPA Calls for Urgent, Patient-Centered Action as WHO Delays Final Report on Substandard and Falsified Medicines"},"content":{"rendered":"

WPA Calls for Urgent, Patient-Centered Action as WHO Delays Final Report on Substandard and Falsified Medicines<\/strong><\/p>\n

The WPA acknowledges the decision made at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly 2025 (WHA78) to defer the finalization of the report on\u202fsubstandard and falsified (SF) medical products\u202funtil the 2026 Assembly. While recognizing the complexity of the issues under review, WPA expresses deep concern about the growing global threat that SF medical products pose to patient safety and public health particularly in vulnerable and underserved communities.<\/p>\n

The delay follows a request by the Steering Committee of the Member State mechanism (MsM), which seeks additional time to consider recommendations from the 2023 independent evaluation. The final report will now be reviewed at the\u202fSeventy-ninth World Health Assembly (WHA79<\/strong>)\u202fvia the WHO Executive Board in early 2026.<\/p>\n

Patients Continue to Suffer While Delays Persist<\/strong><\/p>\n

WPA underscores that\u202fpatients are the first and most severely impacted victims\u202fof substandard and falsified medicines facing avoidable harm, prolonged illness, treatment failures, and even death. With\u202f1 in 10 medical products in low and middle income countries estimated to be SF, and global economic losses between\u202fUS$ 75\u2013200 billion annually, the stakes could not be higher.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery delayed decision means more lives put at risk,\u201d said Hussain Jafri, CEO WPA. \u201cWe urge all stakeholders to accelerate their commitment and prioritize patient safety above procedural and institutional hurdles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strengthening Global Coordination with Patient Involvement<\/strong><\/p>\n

WPA acknowledges the valuable work of the\u202fMember State mechanism (MsM)\u202fsince its establishment in 2012 and welcomes WHO\u2019s ongoing support to refine and strengthen its operations. However, WPA calls for\u202fgreater transparency and meaningful engagement with patient organizations and civil society\u202fin all aspects of this process.<\/p>\n

The 2023 evaluation rightly called for:<\/p>\n

Improved regional engagement and representation<\/p>\n

Broader stakeholder collaboration, including patients<\/p>\n

Enhanced agility and operational effectiveness\u202fof the mechanism<\/p>\n

WPA believes these improvements must be urgently implemented, and that patient voices must be central to any reformed mechanism or strategy.<\/p>\n

Digital Threats and Regulatory Gaps Require Stronger Action<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u202frise in SF incidents nearly tripling between 2019 and 2023, is exacerbated by factors such as:<\/p>\n

Online distribution of medicines with weak oversight<\/p>\n

Humanitarian crises and conflict zones<\/p>\n

Under-resourced regulatory systems<\/p>\n

WPA calls for the development of a\u202fpatient-focused, real time global surveillance and alert system, strong regulatory frameworks across all regions, and investment in\u202fpublic awareness campaigns\u202fto empower patients to identify and report SF products.<\/p>\n

Looking Ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the final report is prepared for WHA79, the WPA urges WHO and Member States to:<\/p>\n

Prioritize patient safety in all deliberations<\/p>\n

Ensure timely action and avoid further procedural delays<\/p>\n

Integrate patient voices meaningfully in the mechanism\u2019s reform and implementation<\/p>\n

Substandard and falsified medicines are not just a supply chain issue, they are a human rights issue.\u202fEvery patient deserves access to safe, effective, and quality-assured medical products.<\/p>\n

WPA remains committed to working alongside WHO, governments, regulators, and partners to ensure that global action against SF medical products is bold, inclusive, and focused on protecting those who matter most:\u202fthe patients.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WPA Calls for Urgent, Patient-Centered Action as WHO Delays Final Report on Substandard and Falsified Medicines The WPA acknowledges the decision made at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly 2025 (WHA78) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":232744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"news-category":[15],"class_list":["post-232743","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-category-wpa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldpatientsalliance.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/232743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldpatientsalliance.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldpatientsalliance.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldpatientsalliance.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldpatientsalliance.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232743"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldpatientsalliance.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/232743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":234887,"href":"https:\/\/worldpatientsalliance.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/232743\/revisions\/234887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldpatientsalliance.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldpatientsalliance.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldpatientsalliance.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232743"},{"taxonomy":"news-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldpatientsalliance.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-category?post=232743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}