Belgium and WHO sign new agreement to boost global equitable access to health products and technologies

The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes a new €8 million, four-year contribution from the Government of Belgium to accelerate global equitable access to essential health products and technologies. The funding will strengthen geographically diversified and sustainable manufacturing capacity, an urgent global priority underscored by lessons from the COVID-19 crisis.

The contribution will bolster WHO's efforts to ensure that low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) can both develop and produce the health products they need, including vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, and other critical technologies. It builds on a long-standing collaboration between Belgium and WHO to advance access to health products worldwide.

"Equitable access to medicines and health products is a foundation for both universal health coverage and health security," said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Systems, Access and Data. "Belgium's renewed financial support will enable geographically diversified and sustainable manufacturing where it is needed most, helping build a safer, fairer and more resilient global health ecosystem."

A strategic investment in access and global health security

Covering the period December 2025 to November 2029, Belgium's multi-year support will anchor progress in two key areas:

1. strengthening existing production capabilities to guarantee long-term sustainability and rapid delivery of health products and technologies for pandemic preparedness and response; and
2. enabling sustainable regional production ecosystems capable of delivering innovative health products and technologies addressing ongoing public health priorities, from prevention and diagnosis to treatment, monitoring, rehabilitation and palliative care.

Belgium's contribution will enable WHO to accelerate implementation of two key programmes:

• the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme (Phase 2.0), which supports LMIC manufacturers in becoming independently viable producers of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics by 2030 - including for pandemic-relevant pathogens and priority diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, dengue and cancer; and
• the Health Technology Access Programme (HTAP), WHO's mechanism for securing rights and enabling geo-diversified technology transfer, initially focused on diagnostics and mRNA but expanding to other priority technologies. HTAP has already facilitated licensing agreements and sublicenses to expand diagnostic manufacturing capacity in underserved regions.

HTAP expands on the ambition of the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) - an initiative Belgium championed as the first Member State to make a significant contribution. By fully integrating the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme, HTAP builds sustainable capacity by prioritizing multi-purpose technologies that can be used for both pandemic preparedness and public health priorities outside of emergencies, thus helping to ensure that no country is left behind in accessing vaccines, medicines and other critical health products.

Strengthening the foundations of equitable access

Belgium's support will also reinforce critical cross-cutting work areas that enable equitable access, including:

• regulatory system strengthening to achieve and maintain high maturity levels and regulatory preparedness;
• manufacturing ecosystem assessments and country-level capacity building;
• global norms and standards for medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and medical devices;
• improved pricing policies and market transparency; and
• enhanced prioritization of essential medicines, in line with WHO's Essential Medicines List (EML).

Together, these efforts contribute directly to the WHO Access Roadmap 2025-2030 and to the WHO Fourteenth General Programme of Work.

Belgium's new contribution also strengthens alignment with the European Union Global Gateway and the Team Europe Initiative on Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines and Health Technologies (MAV+), in which Belgium plays a leading role.

Belgium is a longstanding partner of WHO, providing sustained and flexible multi-year support to strengthen health systems, improve equitable access to quality health products, and address major global health challenges.