A/HRC/37/74 health technologies, including a binding convention delinking research and development costs from end prices of medicines and promoting transparency on costs of production. 55. The Medical Innovation and Access Policy Adviser for the Médecins Sans Frontières Access Campaign, Elena Villanueva-Olivo, spoke about the Médecins Sans Frontières Access Campaign to raise awareness about the need to improve medical tools in crises. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, during which there had been a lack of effective diagnostics, treatments and vaccines, had illustrated the failure of the research and development system to prioritize, develop and produce affordable drugs and vaccines. She mentioned initiatives to prevent new gaps and failures, such as the WHO Research and Development Blueprint and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. She expressed concern that Northern philanthropists and Governments, which funded nearly all research and development, prioritized the protection of their own populations and economic interests over the essential health needs of poor populations. 56. During the interactive dialogue, representatives of Belarus, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, OHCHR, the Asia Pacific Transgender Network, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Medicines Transparency Alliance Mongolia and the PrEP Impact Trial took the floor. Many participants raised issues concerning economic barriers to access to medicines, including the fact that market and economic considerations took precedence over human rights. They also highlighted the lack of transparency on pricing, “commercial” determinants of health, the devastating impacts of epidemics on the economies of developing countries, and neglected tropical diseases. Participants commented on international partnerships and partnerships between Governments and civil society. A number of participants inquired about discrimination within and among nations in access to medicines, diagnosis, pre-exposure prophylaxis and resources, with specific reference to children, transgender women, and men who had sex with men. Some mentioned the relationship between universal health coverage and access to medicines. 57. Ms. Villanueva-Olivo said that access to medicines was necessary for universal health coverage. Advocacy was then needed to ensure that WHO had a strong role in promoting access to medicine and support for the adoption of TRIPS flexibilities. Ms. Peck emphasized the need for global and domestic funding mechanisms, including for access to vaccines. She reiterated the importance of partnerships with communities. Mr. Mellouk argued that recognizing law as a determinant of health referred both to the text and the implementation of laws. TRIPS flexibilities should be available in a non-discriminatory manner and without yielding to pharmaceutical companies biased choices. Ms. ´t Hoen argued that access to new essential medicines also affected developed countries. For universal health coverage to be viable, it was necessary to deal with patents, market and data exclusivities, including by delinking research and development from the market logic and improving transparency in pricing. J. The way forward 58. The director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division of OHCHR highlighted the 2030 Agenda and its call to leave no one behind as key for discussions on human rights related to health. Stigmatization, criminalization and discrimination worsened epidemics. Civil society’s role was crucial, but it was often under attack and its space was shrinking. States should foster civil society’s legal, policy and financial enabling environment. The human rights-based approach to access to medicines was the best way to promote policy coherence in that area. Echoing the call made by the High-level Working Group on the Health and Human Rights of Women, Children and Adolescents for policy shifts, she recalled the importance of the protection of rights through and to health, of the role of health workers in defending human rights and their empowerment and protection, and of improved participation of all stakeholders, including communities and parliamentarians, in leaving no one behind in the advancement of health related human rights. 15