Partnership report: Unitaid and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
In our newly released Partnership Report, we highlight how the Global Fund and Unitaid collaborate to accelerate equitable access to lifesaving health products that prevent, detect and treat HIV, TB and malaria. By combining Unitaid’s investments in innovative new health products with the Global Fund’s proven ability to take those tools to scale around the world, we increase return on investment, save more lives and reach the health-related Sustainable Development Goals more quickly.
The Global Fund and Unitaid each play a distinct and complementary role in advancing access to new products and approaches to save lives. Unitaid connects a broad range of partners to identify and create innovative new health products, and then brings them to market quickly and affordably for the people that need them most. The Global Fund, as one of the largest providers of key health commodities, supports over 120 countries in deploying these innovations at scale and at affordable prices.
New products and novel approaches to fight HIV, TB and malaria can transform care, averting countless cases of illness and death. But lifesaving medicines and tools will have limited impact without a concerted effort to ensure access for all who need them. Our collaboration spans all three diseases and has included ensuring equitable access to next-generation mosquito nets to stop malaria-carrying mosquitoes, game-changing treatments for HIV, and more effective TB preventive therapy.
A joint analysis by Unitaid and the Global Fund estimated the return on investment and the impact these health innovations will have on the death toll from the three diseases between 2024-2026. That review showed that health innovations maximize the impact of investments into the Global Fund and broader HIV, TB, and malaria efforts, accelerating the overall response and delivering the same reduction in deaths more than three years faster. The health and economic gains from every dollar invested in the three diseases are 16% higher with health innovations like those piloted by Unitaid and scaled up by the Global Fund.
Partnership report: Unitaid and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation doubles its contribution to Unitaid to US$100 million over 5 years
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a long-term commitment of $100 million to Unitaid to bring faster access to health products in low- and middle-income countries. This funding doubles the foundation’s previous commitment and will support Unitaid’s work to accelerate the introduction and delivery of new lifesaving solutions at equitable scale, including those for maternal and newborn health.
The foundation highlighted that Unitaid’s unique approach helps reach the health-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals more quickly.
“It takes far too long for lifesaving products to get from approval to widespread adoption. For over 15 years, Unitaid has played a pivotal role in speeding up that process – developing new health innovations, then working with organizations like the Global Fund to get them to people faster,” said Bill Gates, co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “We’re on the cusp of exciting new innovations that will help accelerate progress on HIV, TB, and malaria, as well as maternal and child health. By doubling our foundation’s commitment to Unitaid, we hope to get these tools in the hands of health workers in time to save millions of lives.”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been a supporter of Unitaid since its inception and serves as a member of Unitaid’s Executive Board. Since our creation, they have contributed a total of US$150 million to Unitaid’s work to fast-track the development of lifesaving tests, treatments and tools and speed up access for the people who need them most. With support from donors like the Gates Foundation, Unitaid has unlocked access to more than 100 groundbreaking products that are now considered the gold standard for fighting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, improving women’s and children’s health, and strengthening pandemic preparedness and response.
Unitaid thanks the Gates Foundation for its ongoing support and the new funding, which will help us find new solutions to the most pressing global health challenges.
Read the full press release here.
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Accelerate and promote responsible introduction of new DR-TB drugs and regimens
Global Fund, PEPFAR and Unitaid Collaboration Paves Way to Accelerate Approval of African-Manufactured HIV Rapid Tests
Geneva, 8 August 2023 – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund), the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and Unitaid are partnering to accelerate the manufacturing of health products in Africa, with HIV rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) as the initial focused product category.
With support from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Fund, in partnership with PEPFAR and Unitaid, is launching a pilot, open Expert Review Panel for Diagnostic Products (ERPD) call for Expression of Interest (EOI) for African manufacturers of HIV RDTs to accelerate the availability of quality assured RDTs in Africa.
By issuing this call for EOI [English | Français], the Global Fund is inviting manufacturers of HIV in-vitro diagnostic products conducting some, or all, of the manufacturing steps in Africa to submit their product information for review. Once a submission is accepted by the Global Fund, the ERPD – an independent panel of technical experts convened by WHO – will conduct an assessment of the potential risks linked to the procurement and use of such diagnostic products that have not yet been prequalified by WHO or authorized for use through a stringent regulatory review.
“Promoting capacity building for regional manufacturing is important, particularly in Africa, to contribute to building resilient health systems and driving equitable access to quality-assured products,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “As a global health partnership, the Global Fund is poised to support this work, recognizing that it is owned and led by the continent.”
The ERPD makes recommendations to the Global Fund for procurement. The outcome of the ERPD assessment will be shared with partners to enable wider distribution of the assessed products. Products considered by the ERPD to have an acceptable risk-benefit profile for procurement will need to continue working towards compliance with quality standards through prequalification or another stringent regulatory review with lifecycle regulatory oversight. More details on the ERPD, which is hosted by the WHO Regulation and Prequalification department, are available here.
“WHO welcomes this important initiative, which addresses two key priorities: the need for a reliable supply of rapid HIV test kits so that everyone with HIV in Africa can access lifesaving treatment; and the need for enhanced local manufacturing of medical products in Africa, to build capacities and reduce reliance on imports,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General for WHO.
This is a pivotal milestone in the organizations’ joint efforts to accelerate the supply diversification agenda, which contributes to more equitable access to quality-assured health products, more resilient supply chains and supply security. Manufacturers and partners are invited to join an information session on the Call for EOI on 10 August at 14:00 Central European Summer Time (CEST).
Today, many health products – including HIV tests – are manufactured far from where they are used, compromising their equitable and timely supply. This reality became glaringly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when global supply chain disruption had a disproportionate impact on regions that were net importers of health products.
“Strengthening regional manufacturing of quality-assured diagnostics and other critical health commodities on the African continent is a key priority for PEPFAR,” said Ambassador Dr. John Nkengasong, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State. “Supporting African-based manufacturing of HIV rapid tests will build a strong foundation for longer term capacity of diagnostic manufacturing for all health threats, and will ensure supply security, patient access, and contribute to global health security.”
“Unitaid is firmly committed to strengthening manufacturing capacity of health products in Africa,” said Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid. “We join hands with global health partners to take this critical step towards greater access to health products, including diagnostics. Investing in and supporting a robust regulatory framework, alongside technical, procurement and demand generation support to manufacturers, will help ensure the quality and safety of these tests, expedite their deployment and expand access for all.”
The Global Fund continues to drive equitable access to quality-assured health products. Through its NextGen market-shaping approach, the Global Fund is working closely with partners to implement interventions that accelerate new product introduction, support capacity building for regional manufacturing and procurement, and promote sustainable supply chains and country capacity strengthening at global, national and community levels.
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Hervé Verhoosel
Head of Communications and Spokesperson
M: +33 6 22 59 73 54
Better health solutions
Unitaid announces new estimates projecting more effective and affordable HIV treatments to generate more than US$7 billion in savings by 2030
- First approved for use in the United States a decade ago, HIV treatment dolutegravir (DTG) has reached more than 22 million people in 110 low- and middle-income countries at lower cost than the alternative.
- Global health agency Unitaid invested nearly US$100 million to drive down drug prices, introduce treatments to Africa, build sustainable supplies, develop pediatric formulations, and conduct clinical research to enable safe use by vulnerable groups including pregnant women.
- The groundbreaking drug arrived in low- and middle-income countries just three years after its first approval and is now available for less than US$50 for one year of treatment.
- This product has already generated enormous savings for health systems and is projected to save low- and middle-income countries more than US$7 billion by 2030, as coverage rises to an estimated 31.5 million people.
- The new estimates were released as part of Unitaid’s investment case, which highlights vital health interventions that will drive progress in global health, provided funding targets are met.
Geneva – Global health agency Unitaid today announced new estimates projecting US$7 billion in savings to health systems by 2030, resulting from rapid and widescale implementation of a groundbreaking treatment for HIV, dolutegravir (DTG). The drug, which is used by over 22 million people in 110 low- and middle-income countries today, was approved for use in the first high-income country in 2013.
Typically, introduction of new medicines is a complex and lengthy process, taking up to ten years for the first supplies to reach resource-limited settings, as was the case with previous advances to HIV treatment. With its lower susceptibility to drug resistance and ability to quickly reduce viral load and prevent onward transmission, delays in access to DTG would have had serious implications on the lives and health of countless people in low- and middle-income countries where more than 80% of all those with HIV live.
“This outsized impact of this work makes a clear case: with early support and strong partnerships we can deliver massive returns,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid. “As we look to tackle the next great challenges in global health facing men, women, and children in low- and middle-income countries, we know what we need to do. We call on countries to step up and commit to fund equitable access – now.”
Published today showcasing several major achievements, Unitaid’s Investment Case comes as leaders in health convene in Geneva for the World Health Assembly to chart a path towards pandemic recovery, universal health coverage, and 2030 targets.
The success of DTG illustrates how a relatively small, early investment can deliver enormous returns at scale. Achieved through a coordinated multi-partner effort, including a series of parallel interventions backed by Unitaid, the new drug got off the ground and into health systems at affordable prices in record time.
Unitaid’s support for voluntary licensing helped secure an agreement less than one year after DTG received regulatory approval, opening the door to generic manufacture of the drug.
Working in parallel, Unitaid funded clinical trials to expand safe use of the drug among the largest or most at-risk populations of people with HIV who were not included in the original drug trials. It also accelerated the introduction of DTG to enable rapid access, drive demand and develop new markets.
Through these efforts, DTG arrived in low- and middle-income countries just three years after its registration in the United States. And by 2019, clinical trial results enabled access to be expanded to include pregnant women and people undergoing treatment for tuberculosis, the most common opportunistic infection amongst people living with HIV. Critically, DTG proved superior to previous treatments in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, particularly when a woman is diagnosed late in pregnancy.
Today, there are 16 generic manufacturers of DTG-based HIV treatments, including child-adapted formulations. Medicines are available for less than US$50 per person per year, significantly lower than the breakthrough introduction price of US$75 and more affordable than all alternative treatments.
The US$7 billion in savings is the result of nearly US$100 million in early investment from Unitaid to address obstacles standing in the way of widescale uptake coupled with rapid adoption by countries and partners. These obstacles include high prices, insufficient supplies, regulatory hurdles, intellectual property restrictions, supply-chain bottlenecks, low demand, and gaps in evidence, in addition to identifying solutions that are better adapted to use in lower-income settings.
Unitaid’s work over the next five years will advance life-saving solutions to some of the most pressing health challenges facing people in low- and middle-income countries. This includes long-acting preventive treatments for HIV, screen-and-treat solutions for cervical cancer, same-day tuberculosis diagnosis, life-saving tools to protect women from severe bleeding during childbirth, a robust toolbox of malaria-fighting interventions, and sustainable, affordable supplies of medical oxygen, among many others.
As 2030 targets loom large, and countries struggle to regain ground lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, this work is more critical now than ever.
The Investment Case outlines the need for US$1.5 billion in funding to support Unitaid’s next five years of work, in which it will continue to push the boundaries to improve care and reduce the disproportionate burden of disease facing people in low- and middle-income countries.
Related publications:
Notes:
The rapid and wide-scale adoption of DTG was achieved through strong country leadership and a coordinated partnership effort with contributions from a multitude of partners including: AfroCAB, ANRS, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Central Hospital of Yaoundé, CHAI, EGPAF, Ezintsha/WitsRHI, The Global Fund, HIV i-Base, Institut Bouisson Bertrand, IAME, INSERM, IRD, Infectious Diseases Institute Uganda, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Medicines Patent Pool, Radboud University, SESSTIM, Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, TransVIHMI, Treatment Action Campaign, University of Liverpool, University of New South Wales/Kirby Institute, University of Stellenbosch, USAID/PEPFAR, and WHO.
About Unitaid
Unitaid is a global health agency engaged in finding innovative solutions to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases more quickly, cheaply, and effectively, in low- and middle-income countries. Its work includes funding initiatives to address major diseases such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as HIV co-infections and co-morbidities including advanced HIV disease, cervical cancer, and hepatitis C, and cross-cutting areas, such as fever management. Unitaid is now applying its expertise to address challenges in advancing new therapies and diagnostics for the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as a key member of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, co-leading with Wellcome the Therapeutics Pillar and participating in the Diagnostics Pillar. Unitaid is hosted by the World Health Organization.
Media contact:
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Hervé Verhoosel
Team Lead, Communications
M: +33 6 22 59 73 54