At the international level, mutual recognition and harmonization agreements may influence the choice of risk management actions.
In spite of the attempt of harmonization, quantitative agreement between methods was generally not satisfactory and methods could not be used interchangeably.
An important part of data harmonization is the agreement on a standardized vocabulary for variables.
By far the most important outgrowth of the pressure for international harmonization has been the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which was negotiated as part of the Uruguay Round (1986 94) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
Thus, agreements on harmonization of regulations and guidelines can be more complicated and difficult to achieve than may seem to be the case.
Although the harmonization of data access agreements would facilitate data access at a global level, it should consider local legislation with respect to processing personal data and the responsibilities of data custodians, which may vary across jurisdictions.
Quality assurance for the use of typing data requires harmonization of genotype nomenclature, and agreement on target genes, depending on the level of resolution required, and robustness of methods.
UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin and UNCDF Executive Secretary David Morrison praised Luxembourg for encouraging the four agencies to achieve a high degree of harmonization and for a model agreement, which was found to be holistic, predictable, flexible and structured in terms of support.
That regional policy agreement gives the Harmonization for Health in Africa (AfDB, JICA, UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA, USAID, WHO, World Bank) and other relevant bilateral agencies a basis for collaborating with national authorities to develop a plan of action for rolling out support for institutionalizing national health accounts.
"We are highly skeptical that an agreement focused on regulatory harmonization' will serve consumer interests, workers' rights, the environment, and other areas of public interest," said a large coalition of American and European consumer groups in a statement.
