The Paso del Norte Region is the largest metropolitan area on the US-Mexican border, with Ciudad Juárez as a major manufacturing centre. However, the economic performance on both sides of the border region is below the OECD average. The long-term competitiveness of the region is under threat...

Southern Arizona is a major gateway for trade with Mexico. Its economic engine, the Tucson metropolitan area has developed into a hub of light-based industries, but ranks near the bottom third of US cities in per capita income. State funding for education is in decline, accentuated by the...

This note provides information on the global value chain for the production of surgical masks and N95 respirators in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. It analyses the causes of the current shortage of these key medical supplies needed to prevent the spread of coronavirus, and reviews some...

Ensuring access to medical equipment and medicines is one of the most immediate issues arising from the COVID-19 crisis. Health services not only need these to fight the virus, but also to protect their workers and others from infection. Increasingly, workers employed in other critical sectors,...

The goods needed to vaccinate, protect and test during the COVID-19 pandemic are produced across many different countries. This brief tells the tale of three products ‒ vaccines, face masks and tests ‒ and highlights the role of trade in the fight against COVID-19. International markets and...

This report explores the main reasons behind the unreliable supply of Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) in health-care systems and policy options to address the issue. Tc-99m is used in 85% of nuclear medicine diagnostic scans performed worldwide – around 30 million patient examinations every year....

Secure medical supply chains are a cornerstone of resilient health systems. Medical supply chains are complex and internationalised, often involving many suppliers. The COVID-19 pandemic, which combined an unprecedented surge in demand with interruptions in supply and trade, exacerbated...