From Local Production to Global Health Equity: Financing Regional Innovation and Manufacturing for Resilient Systems

Side event during the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development

Access to essential health products is a fundamental aspect of global health equity. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed critical vulnerabilities in global supply chains, particularly in access to essential health products. Many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) worldwide experienced severe disruptions in the availability of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines due to over-reliance on external suppliers and a lack of regional manufacturing capacity.

As the world navigates a post-pandemic landscape marked by economic uncertainty and significant reductions in global development aid, there is an urgent need to rethink traditional health financing paradigms. Regional manufacturing of health technologies has emerged as a strategic priority to enhance health security, system resilience, and economic autonomy, while promoting equitable access to life-saving interventions.

This side event will explore how innovative financing mechanisms, strategic partnerships, and coordinated approaches can support sustainable manufacturing ecosystems in LMICs. Financing institutions play a pivotal role in fostering equitable access by enabling the scale-up of manufacturing that is fit for purpose and aligned with the needs of countries, both addressing health and economic needs. This is a sustainable and adaptive approach to strengthening countries response to health challenges.