17 December 2024, Cairo, Egypt – In a significant step towards improving access to essential medicines, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean have signed a Memorandum of Arrangement (MoA) to establish a pooled procurement mechanism for public health supplies in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

The agreement, formalized during the 12th Global Management Meeting in Lyon, was signed by PAHO Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr and WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy.

The initiative builds on PAHO’s decades-long experience with Regional Revolving Funds which have been instrumental in enabling equitable access to vital medicines and vaccines at lower prices for Member States in the Americas.