Unitaid Call for Proposals: Supporting the Use of Flexibilities Under TRIPS Agreement and Other Intellectual Property-related Solutions to Facilitate Access to Health Products

Unitaid is pleased to announce a new Call for Proposals on Supporting the use of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) flexibilities and other intellectual property-related solutions to facilitate access to health products.

Unitaid aims to improve access to health products in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Unitaid recognizes that there are many determinants of access; intellectual property rights are one of them. The intellectual property system has been designed to incentivize innovation and has been effective in stimulating and rewarding innovation in several of the disease areas that Unitaid works on. But while patents can incentivize innovation, they also contribute to inequity in access to health products, as has been increasingly recognized in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. TRIPS flexibilities are intended to address this – and thereby represent an essential part of the intellectual property system.

The objective of this Call for Proposals is to continue and expand the use of TRIPS flexibilities and other solutions to prevent, overcome or remove unwarranted intellectual property barriers, in order to ensure affordability and availability of health products in LMICs. In particular, Unitaid is interested in ensuring the availability and affordability of health products [1] – including biologics – for HIV, TB, hepatitis C, and other diseases and conditions in alignment with the programmatic priorities outlined in Unitaid’s Strategy 2023-2027.

Interventions in scope include civil-society led efforts to implement and expand the use of TRIPS flexibilities; capacity building and technical support for the implementation of TRIPS flexibilities and other intellectual property-related solutions that facilitate access to health products; and work on intellectual property policies aiming to enhance supply security and support local or regional manufacturing. The objective of this work is to ensure equitable access to health products.

Full details about the call are available here.