Streamlining Technical Measured on Medical Products to Combat COVID-19
The urgency of effective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and the reliance of many low-income countries on imports of medical products, requires new approaches to regulation of these products. The challenge will be particularly acute for the new...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/304931590509092851/Streamlining-Technical-Measured-on-Medical-Products-to-Combat-COVID-19 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33825 |
| Summary: | The urgency of effective responses to
the COVID-19 pandemic and the reliance of many low-income
countries on imports of medical products, requires new
approaches to regulation of these products. The challenge
will be particularly acute for the new tests to identify
infection, drugs to alleviate symptoms and machines to aid
recovery as well as vaccines that are all expected to be
developed in the coming months. Increased transparency,
information sharing and greater cooperation among agencies
responsible for the approval and inspection of medical goods
around the world can help officials in low-income countries
implement their mandate more effectively while maximizing
efficient access to these commodities. Responsible agencies
should focus on implementing technical regulations to
protect health and safety, including interception of
counterfeit and substandard products, and avoid wasting
resources and creating delays by maintaining procedural
practices that may be better addressed through alternative
risk management strategies or seeking to regulate quality
issues, which are best left to the market. Where there is a
need to rapidly approve, test and inspect new goods or
varieties that have not previously been imported, such as
new equipment and medicines, the adoption of mutual
recognition and/or equivalence can provide effective
mechanisms to avoid regulatory delays while maintaining high
levels of safety. |
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