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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18 million doses of first-ever malaria vaccine will be allocated for 2023-2025, bringing hope to Africa
Geneva – Unitaid warmly welcomes the allocation of 18 million doses of the first-ever malaria vaccine to 12 African countries for the 2023-2025 period. This significant development marks a major milestone in our collective efforts to improve access to health innovations and combat one of Africa’s deadliest diseases.
In 2021, nearly half a million African children lost their lives to malaria. We must leverage the power of health innovation to address this pressing challenge. Unitaid is proud to support the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP) – along with the Global Fund, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Through this programme, we have generated essential evidence to support the recommendation of the malaria vaccine by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2021. Through the MVIP, the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine has been administered to over 1.7 million children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. Its rollout demonstrated the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness in reducing severe malaria.
With the allocation of 18 million doses to 12 African countries*, access to this life-saving vaccine will be extended through routine immunization programmes. By placing emphasis on regions with the most pressing requirements, we are making progress in curbing fatalities related to malaria and safeguarding vulnerable communities, especially young children below five years old who face the gravest burden of the disease. Unitaid firmly believes that equitable access to health innovations is essential in the global fight against malaria. We are proud to have funded and continue to fund projects that enhance coverage of antimalarial preventive treatments for pregnant women and young children, supported vector control strategies, and improved screening and treatment for relapsing malaria. Our investments aim to optimise use and catalyse uptake of existing tools and support new products to build a comprehensive arsenal against this preventable and treatable disease.
“Expanding access to vaccines for malaria is crucial as we strive to reach the global malaria targets by 2030,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Unitaid’s Executive Director. “We must intensify our efforts in regions where the burden of malaria remains high, employing a tailored approach based on local evidence and stratification.”
The vaccine is an important tool in the core package of WHO-recommended measures for malaria prevention – including routine use of insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor spraying with insecticides, malaria chemoprevention strategies, and the timely use of malaria testing and treatment. We call on all stakeholders to swiftly support crucial innovations that can prevent loss of life from malaria. Unitaid is unwavering in its commitment to drive progress, strengthen partnerships, and expand access to life-saving interventions. We require US$1.5 billion by 2027 to continue our mission. Support Unitaid to save lives faster.
* Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone, Uganda.