Dili, Sept. 11 -- The WHO South-East Asia Region today committed to improving equitable access to quality-assured and affordable medical devices, including in vitro diagnostics (IVDs) and assistive technologies through an integrated life-cycle approach, from planning and regulation to procurement, maintenance, replacement and safe decommissioning.

For the first time ever at a WHO Regional Committee, Member States discussed medical devices as a dedicated agenda item and adopted a resolution setting out concrete, time-bound actions to strengthen national systems for planning, regulating, procuring, managing and monitoring medical devices, IVDs and assistive technologies.

Moving from broad recommendations to implementation, Member States a...