BACKGROUND :

The IACG, which meets all day on Jan 29 and 30, wishes to hold an open session with stakeholders, especially civil society organizations. The WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, will officially open the session. Moderator: Dr Stefan Peterson, Chief of Health (UNICEF) Panelists: 1. Amit Sengupta People’s Health Movement – “How do you ensure appropriate access in countries like India where public investment is low and private healthcare is on the rise?” 2. Mercedes Tatay, MSF. (Title of talk TBC) 3. Damiano de Felice, Director of Strategy, Access to Medicines Foundation - "What pharmaceutical companies are doing to deploy their products in a way that strikes the right balance between access and excess, including best practices and areas for improvement.” 4. KM Gopakumar, Third World Network. (Title of talk TBC) 5. Mirfin Mpundu, Head of ReAct Africa – “The role of quality medicines in addressing access to medicines and an effective supply chain.” 6. Hanan Balkhy, Saudi Arabia (IACG) 7. Vivana Munoz, South Centre (representing Martin Khor, IACG)