SIXTIETH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY Agenda item 12.19
WHA60.29 23 May 2007
Health technologies1 The Sixtieth World Health Assembly, Having considered the report on health technologies;2 Recognizing that health technologies equip health-care providers with tools that are indispensable for effective and efficient prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation and attainment of internationally agreed health-related development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration; Understanding that health technologies in particular medical devices represent an economic as well as a technical challenge to the health systems of many Member States, and concerned about the waste of resources resulting from inappropriate investments in health technologies in particular medical devices that do not meet high-priority needs, are incompatible with existing infrastructures, are irrationally or incorrectly used, or do not function efficiently; Acknowledging the need for Member States and donors to contain burgeoning costs by establishing priorities in the selection and acquisition of health technologies in particular medical devices on the basis of their impact on the burden of disease, and to ensure the effective use of resources through proper planning, assessment, acquisition and management; Noting the need to expand expertise in the field of health technologies in particular medical devices; 1. URGES Member States: (1) to collect, verify, update and exchange information on health technologies in particular medical devices as an aid to their prioritization of needs and allocation of resources; (2) to formulate as appropriate national strategies and plans for the establishment of systems for the assessment, planning, procurement and management of health technologies in particular medical devices, in collaboration with personnel involved in health-technology assessment and biomedical engineering;
The term “health technologies refers to the application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives”. 2
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Document A60/26.
WHA60.29
(3) to draw up national or regional guidelines for good manufacturing and regulatory practices, to establish surveillance systems and other measures to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of medical devices and where appropriate participate in international harmonization; (4) to establish where necessary regional and national institutions of health technology, and to collaborate and build partnerships with health-care providers, industry, patients’ associations and professional, scientific and technical organizations; (5) to collect information that interrelates medical devices, which deal with priority publichealth conditions at different levels of care and in various settings and environments, with the required infrastructure, procedures and reference tools; 2. REQUESTS the Director-General: (1) to work with interested Member States and WHO collaborating centres on the development, in a transparent and evidence-based way, of guidelines and tools, including norms, standards and a standardized glossary of definitions relating to health technologies in particular medical devices; (2) to provide support to Member States where necessary in establishing mechanisms to assess national needs for health technologies in particular medical devices and to assure their availability and use; (3) to develop methodological tools to support Member States in analysing their health technologies in particular medical devices needs and health-system prerequisites; (4) to provide technical guidance and support to Member States where necessary in implementing policies on health technologies, in particular medical devices especially for priority diseases, according to different levels of care in developing countries; (5) to work jointly with other organizations of the United Nations system, international organizations, academic institutions and professional bodies in order to provide support to Member States in the prioritization, selection and use of health technologies in particular medical devices; (6) to establish and update regularly an evidence and web-based health technologies database to serve as a clearing house which will provide guidance on appropriate medical devices according to levels of care, setting, environment, and intended health intervention, tailored to the specific needs of country or region; (7) to provide support to Member States with vulnerable health-care systems so as to identify and put in place appropriate health technologies in particular medical devices that facilitate access to quality services in primary health care; (8) to report on implementation of this resolution to the Executive Board and the Sixty-second World Health Assembly through the Executive Board. Eleventh plenary meeting, 23 May 2007 A60/VR/11 = 2
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