H.E. Ambassador Lundeg Purevsuren

United Kingdom

9 SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT

172.   The United Kingdom is committed to implementing Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement to promote and encourage technology transfer to least developed country Members. We will provide an update on two projects undertaken by the United Kingdom in recent years. 173.   The project Geo-Referenced Infrastructure and Demographic Data for Development (GRID3) aims to transform the ability of governments, the private sector, development organisations and civil society to use geospatial and demographic data for effective planning and implementation of key services. 174.   GRID3 is working in Nigeria, Zambia, Mozambique, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo and has conducted scoping missions to Tanzania, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. 175.   The lack of basic information such as population distribution, population structure, settlement maps, road networks, water bodies or administrative boundaries means that decisions such as where to target relief efforts, position polling stations and health centres, how to allocate resources at the subnational level or where to expand energy and internet access are based on out of date and incomplete information. 176.   GRID3 has helped create and use high-resolution demographic data to address identified data needs, providing better local estimates of population which can be used to plan and deliver services and to identify populations which may not otherwise be identified. 177.   Another example is the United Kingdom's support to Product Development Research. This project aims to develop new human health technologies, such as diagnostics, drugs and vaccines, and to ensure that they are acceptable, affordable and available to those that need them in low income countries. 178.   The United Kingdom Government provides support to a number of different organisations including product development public private product development partnerships (PDPs), which are not for profit organisations based in a number of different countries, working with partners across the globe, depending on the disease and type of technology being developed. 179.   PDP investments have resulted in critically important products, including a new paediatric fixed dose TB drug, with over one million treatments distributed in 93 countries since its launch in 2016, as well as the development of two new vaccines to treat rotavirus for use in India. 180.   The United Kingdom is happy to discuss its projects in more detail with Members at a later date.

The Council took note of the statements made.

25.   The Chair recalled that, at its meeting in October 2019, the Council had had on its agenda the 17th Annual Review under Paragraph 2 of the Decision on the Implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. At that meeting, delegations had briefly presented the updated reports submitted by developed country Members under Article 66.2. Since that meeting New Zealand had submitted its updated report. All updated reports had been circulated under IP/C/W/656 and addenda. At that meeting, the Council had also agreed that it would revert to the item at the present meeting to permit continued consideration of the submitted material.
26.   In order to give LDC Members more time to absorb the information provided by developed countries in their reports, and to ensure that these reports were available in the official languages of the WTO, the Article 66.2 Workshop had once again taken place back-to-back with the TRIPS Council meeting. This had allowed some of the capital-based delegates who had participated in the Workshop, to participate in the meeting and take part in the discussions under this agenda item.
27.   The LDC Group has circulated a Room document entitled, "Proposed New Template of annual Reporting on Technology Transfer to LDCs". This room document RD/IP/37 was available online on documents for meetings, and as a paper copy at the back of the meeting room. He noted that the English and French texts were both contained in the same document. He invited the Secretariat to report on the Workshop.
28.   A representative of the Secretariat took the floor.
29.   The Chair invited delegations to comment on the materials submitted for the last meeting, as well as to share their experiences from the Article 66.2 Workshop held in the past two days.
30.   The representatives of Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group; Bangladesh; the United Kingdom; Switzerland; the United States of America; Canada; the European Union; Japan; Norway; Vanuatu; Australia; and the African Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) took the floor.
31.   The Council took note of the statements made.

IP/C/M/94, IP/C/M/94/Add.1