Equitable access principles, policies, and practices (EAPPP) — the topic of this discussion paper — are critical to supporting PHC delivery and making UHC a reality in terms of access to health products like medicines, diagnostics, vaccines, and more, including those funded or developed through product development partnerships, or PDPs (i.e., not for-profit led collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors to fund, discover, develop, and deliver new health technologies for communicable and noncommunicable diseases).
In 2021/22, ACTION helped mobilize donors to support CEPI’s replenishment efforts to secure resources to fund vaccine development. Throughout that campaign, ACTION and other global health advocates noted a gap in civil society’s understanding of CEPI’s equitable access journey and latest policies and the EAPPP of PDPs writ large.
This discussion paper explores the following questions to support global health advocates in enhancing their comprehension of and advocacy for EA:
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What is EA, and why is it critical for PDPs to prioritize it in order to contribute to PHC and robust PPPR?
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What do existing EA efforts look like at a high level, and how well are those efforts being communicated and made available by PDPs?
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How has the EA journey of CEPI evolved, and what does a preliminary analysis of the strengths of and gaps in its EAPPP reveal?
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What steps can PDPs take to improve their EAPPP more generally and their engagement with CSOs and affected communities specifically?