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The Sustainable Development Goals are the first ever globally-agreed development plan for our entire planet. They are the world’s to-do list for a fairer, safer and healthier world by 2030. The Health goals in the SDGs build on the unfinished business of the MDG era (such as on HIV, tuberculosis and malaria) and adds new targets, such as non-communicable diseases, universal health coverage. Trade and globalization have contributed to international and national movement in medical, food and health products across boundaries.

During the World Health Assembly 2017 discussions on the UN High Level Report on access to medicines, it was decided by all Member States to bring up the matter in the Executive Board of WHO, to inform the proposed special session UN discussions in 2018. To enable deeper discussions and a holistic view on access to medicines (including all medical products: medicines, vaccines, devices, diagnostics) the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Indian Society of International Law (ISIL) with the support of WHO is organizing the “1st World Conference on Access to Medical Products and International Laws for Trade and Health in the Context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

Universal health coverage and the interlinked agenda of access to medicines, is one of the regional flagship priorities in the WHO South East Asia Region. Globalization and increase in regional and bilateral trade is a phenomenon where international measures and transfer of technology are becoming critical in national decision making for public health. Certain international trade issues such as intellectual property, government procurement, competition laws, environment, and plurilateral agreements such as on government run enterprises are becoming critical for decision making. The aspirations for trade with access to medical products (medicines, vaccines, medical technologies, diagnostics) and the Sustainable Development Goals for Health need to be considered together to balance for trade and health benefits.

The aim of Conference is to provide a forum for stakeholder participation in access to medicines debate including trade and health policy. The Conference seeks to inform policy in the framework of globalization and trade agreements for access to medical products for achieving SDGs.