Ensuring timely and equitable access to medical countermeasures: partners convene for the 3rd Annual i-MCM-Net Meeting

The World Health Organization convened its 3rd Annual Partners Meeting of the interim Medical Countermeasures Network (i-MCM-Net) in Istanbul, Türkiye, from 30 September to 1 October 2025. The meeting was hosted by the i-MCM-Net Secretariat at WHO Headquarters, in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Europe and its Centre for Preparedness for Humanitarian and Health Emergencies, which also serves as the secretariat for WHO Europe's Pan-European Network for Disease Control. Some 85 participants from 30 organizations, including regional bodies, UN agencies, international development partners, academia, civil society, and the private sector, took part in this year's meeting.

The aim of the meeting was to strengthen collaboration and accelerate progress toward timely and equitable access to medical countermeasures (MCMs) including vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, and other essential health products, to better prepare for future public health emergencies in a rapidly evolving global health security landscape. Specifically, the meeting:

• reviewed recent developments across the MCM ecosystem to support implementation of the global i-MCM-Net High-Level Implementation Plan;
• explored how partners can best support regional implementation through the development of strategic i-MCM-Net roadmaps;
• informed partners on the ongoing Member States' negotiations of the Pandemic Agreement's Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex.

Key insights from the meeting

Over the two days, participants highlighted that preparedness is a shared responsibility, requiring sustained collaboration across sectors and regions. The following key themes emerged from the discussions:

• bridging preparedness gaps: the i-MCM-Net serves as a critical enabler to identify MCM emergency preparedness gaps and foster multisectoral collaboration to promote timely and equitable access to MCMs;
• building regional production capacity: strengthening regional and local MCM production demands political commitment, predictable demand, a skilled workforce, and technology transfer ecosystems to ensure scalable and sustainable manufacturing;
• enhancing supply and procurement systems: integrated supply, procurement, and delivery mechanisms, underpinned by shared data and early government engagement, are essential to minimize delays and ensure continuity;
• accelerating research and development (R&D) through a viral family approach: adopting a viral family approach and developing inclusive R&D roadmaps can expedite the creation of broadly applicable MCMs. Building knowledge and networks before the next pandemic is critical;
• closing the financing gap: sustainable and equitable access to MCMs requires multisectoral collaboration and blended financing models. Transparency and community engagement are key to ensuring accountability and public trust;
• leveraging regional expertise: harnessing the capabilities of regional entities in pooled procurement, regulatory alignment, and manufacturing strengthens regional strategies for equitable MCM access. Ensuring regional perspectives are reflected in global coordination mechanisms helps leave no one behind and provides a clearer understanding of countries' priorities and needs.

Participants also reviewed challenges and proposed solutions across the MCM value chain from fast-tracked R&D and scalable manufacturing, to end-to-end emergency supply chains, integrated delivery systems, and sustainable financing for specific health product categories:

• vaccines: participants emphasized fragile manufacturing capacity, limited WHO prequalification (PQ) among low- and middle-income countries, and financing risks as key constraints. Proposed solutions included early technology transfer, targeted capacity building, and pooled procurement mechanisms;
• diagnostics: discussions identified fragmented procurement systems and weak integration as major challenges. Partners proposed bundled procurement models and continuous gap assessments to improve efficiency, coverage, and affordability; and
• therapeutics: to address limited investment and market sustainability, participants underscored the importance of de-risking R&D and stimulating sustainable demand through push-pull financing models and coalition-building efforts.

Next steps

The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to advance 20 priority actions over the next 12 months. These actions will be integrated into an operational plan, to be co-developed by the i-MCM-Net Secretariat and partners. The plan will focus on strengthening collaboration and accelerating progress across the MCM value chain. These actions will also align across health product-specific workstreams, ensuring that innovations in vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics translate into timely and equitable access for all.

Credit: WHO
Caption: Meeting participants during a breakout session

As the world faces an increasingly complex health security landscape, the i-MCM-Net remains a vital mechanism for translating shared commitments into concrete action until the WHO Pandemic Agreement enters into force: ensuring that no region is left behind and that every country has timely and equitable access to life-saving MCMs when the next public health emergency strikes.