WHO Convenes 3rd i-MCM-Net Meeting to Boost Equitable Access to Health Tools
The World Health Organization (WHO) convened the 3rd Annual Partners Meeting of the interim Medical Countermeasures Network (i-MCM-Net) in Istanbul, Türkiye, from 30 September to 1 October 2025. Co-hosted by WHO Headquarters and the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the meeting gathered 85 representatives from 30 organizations, including UN agencies, regional bodies, development partners, academia, civil society, and the private sector.
The meeting focused on accelerating global collaboration to ensure timely and equitable access to medical countermeasures (MCMs) — including vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, and essential health products — during future public health emergencies. Discussions reviewed recent developments in the MCM ecosystem, progress on the i-MCM-Net High-Level Implementation Plan, and regional roadmaps aligned with the Pandemic Agreement’s Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex.
Key themes emerging from the discussions included strengthening preparedness through multisectoral collaboration, building regional manufacturing capacity, enhancing supply and procurement systems, accelerating research and development through a viral family approach, and improving financing sustainability through blended models and community engagement.
Participants also addressed challenges across the MCM value chain — from R&D and scalable manufacturing to sustainable financing and end-to-end supply systems. Specific recommendations were made to expand WHO prequalification for vaccines, improve diagnostics integration through bundled procurement, and de-risk therapeutic R&D via innovative financing mechanisms.
The meeting concluded with partners agreeing on 20 priority actions for the next 12 months. These will form part of a joint operational plan to strengthen global and regional collaboration, accelerate innovation, and ensure that life-saving vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics are accessible to all, leaving no one behind.
