The event formed part of a series of joint WTO-ECOWAS Commission capacity building activities on trade in services, trade facilitation and trade in goods. Over 50 government officials working on public health, IP or trade matters, together with over 15 experts from the WHO, including the WHO Regional Office for Africa, WIPO and WTO Secretariats participated in the workshop. The workshop provided an overview of the IP system in the context of access to and innovation in health technologies, reviewed trade-related determinants in access to health technologies, and explored how to build capacity for an integrated and coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participants discussed a wide array of topics that impact public health. These ranged across IP policy options and flexibilities, market access issues, trade in health-related services, government procurement, competition policy, the regulation of health technologies, measures to address fake medicines and health-related provisions in regional trade agreements. The workshop also provided an opportunity for participants to identify their priority needs for future, more tailored public health and trade-related capacity building activities. This will be used to develop and implement tailored programmes responsive to the identified priorities of WTO members in the region and to shape continuing collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission.

The final round table during the workshop featured contributions from the ECOWAS Commission, and the WHO, WIPO and WTO Secretariats on ongoing work in the respective institutions to support a response to the COVID-19 pandemic which recognized the distinct and valuable roles of the diverse range of disciplines and stakeholders involved.