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Here is the latest information shared by WHO's Adriana Velázquez regarding Medical Devices and the World Health Organization. May, 2019 Edition

The World Health Assembly will take place in Geneva, Switzerland 20–28 May 2019. The WHA is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board

Member States have a vote and voice on every topic of the agenda.

The main functions of the WHA are to determine the policies of the Organization, review and approve the proposed programme budget.

The provisional agenda for the 72th Session has been made available online.

There are many important topics, but we call your attention to some related with medical technologies, of special interest to be discussed at the Assembly include:

• Access to medicines and vaccines (title says Medicines and Vaccines but content indicates all health products, including medical devices and work to be done in this area)
• Human resources for health
• Patient safety
• Emergency and trauma care
• Progress report (includes discussion of regulation of medical products)
• Universal health coverage

All session of the World Health Assembly will be available by live webcast for the public to watch.

2. 145th Session of the Executive Board

The 145th Session of the Executive Board takes place at WHO headquarters, Geneva, 29 and 30 May 2019.

The members of the Board for this session can be found here. The provisional agenda has been released.

A very important topic to be discussed: Standardization of Medical Devices nomenclature. Owing to rapid scientific and technological development, more than 10 000 types of medical devices now exist.

A standardized classification and nomenclature of medical devices will serve as a common language for recording and reporting medical devices across the whole health system at all levels of health care for a whole range of uses.

The topic has been agreed for consideration at the upcoming 145th Session of the Executive Board and will be discussed.

You can now access the WHO Report on the Standardization of Nomenclature. More information on nomenclature, classification, and coding can be found here.

WHO Publications:

3. The Fourth WHO Global Forum on Medical Devices Report has been released

The Fourth WHO Global Forum on Medical Devices was held in December 2018 in Visakhapatnam, India. It served as an opportunity to share WHO initiatives to support country needs on the road to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The programme included presentations on best practices, challenges and new tools for innovation, regulation, assessment and management of medical devices.

The report for the Forum has now been published. For more information, find all documents in the 4th Global Forum page.

4. WHO technical consultation on the selection of health products, 2019

To support countries in selection of essential health products, WHO maintains four model lists:

• WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (EML)
• WHO Model List of Essential In vitro Diagnostics (EDL)
• WHO Lists of Priority Medical Devices (PMD)
• WHO Priority Assistive Products List (APL)

In January 2019, WHO consulted stakeholders on how these lists are used and how they might be improved and integrated to meet country needs. Through an online survey and expert meeting, stakeholders reviewed each list, identified strengths and weaknesses, and suggested improvements. The results of this consultation are now available online. 

5. Careers at WHO

• WHO Internship programme
• New positions under recruitment by WHO

6. Events Calendar

At WHO:

• 72nd Session of the WHO World Health Assembly (WHA), 20–28 May 2019, Geneva, Switzerland
• 145th Session of the WHO Executive Board, 29–30 May 2019, Geneva, Switzerland

Other Organizations:

• Africa Health by Informa Markets, 28–30 May 2019, Johannesburg, South Africa. Early bird rates deadline: 5th May 2019
• Advancing Safety in Health Technology Exchange 2019, 7-10 June 2019, Cleveland, USA
• Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Annual Congress, 15-19 June 2019, Cologne, Germany
• VIII Congreso Latinoamericano de Ingeniería Biomédica (CLAIB 2019), 2-5 October 2019, Cancun, Mexico. Full paper submission deadline: 15th May 2019. Phase 2 registration deadline: 31st July 2019
• International Clinical Engineering and Health Technology Management Congress 2019, 21-22 October 2019, Rome, Italy. Paper submission deadline: 3rd June 2019. Phase 2 registration deadline: 31st August 2019.
• IHF 43rd World Hospital Congress 2019, 7-9 November 2019, Muscat, Oman. Early Birth registration deadline: 15th August 2019

Best regards,

Magdalena Plotczyk

Intern on Medical Devices

and

Adriana Velazquez Berumen

Senior Advisor on Medical Devices

Department of Essential Medicines and Health Products

World Health Organization | Geneva, Switzerland

Office: +41 (0)22 791 3818 | Websites: www.who.int & www.who.int/medical_devices/en/

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