Le Canada s’engage à verser une contribution supplémentaire de 20 millions de dollars canadiens à Unitaid pour améliorer l’accès mondial aux traitements contre la COVID-19

Genève – Unitaid se réjouit de la contribution de 20 millions de dollars canadiens du Canada, attribuée à ses activités dans le cadre du pilier thérapeutique du dispositif pour accélérer l’accès aux outils de lutte contre la COVID-19 (Accélérateur ACT), afin d’augmenter et d’améliorer l’accès aux médicaments efficaces et à l’oxygène médical vital dans les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire.

Ce financement significatif du Canada contribuera à renforcer le travail que les partenaires du pilier thérapeutique de l’Accélérateur ACT ont effectué en amont pour combler les lacunes en matière de recherche et de développement, et introduire rapidement de nouvelles options de traitement efficaces ainsi que des tests adéquats dans les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire (PRFM).

Harjit S. Sajjan, ministre du Développement international et ministre responsable de l’Agence de développement économique du Pacifique Canada, a déclaré : “Depuis le début de la pandémie, le Canada a travaillé en étroite collaboration avec l’Accélérateur ACT, car nous savons que notre santé dépend de la santé de tous. Nous avons encore beaucoup à faire pour mettre fin à cette crise sanitaire et le Canada s’est engagé à garantir un accès équitable aux produits de santé vitaux partout dans le monde.”

Assurer un accès rapide et équitable aux produits émergents est essentiel dans la réponse mondiale à la pandémie, et les nouveaux traitements ambulatoires administrés par voie orale pourraient changer radicalement la gestion de la COVID-19. Mais nous devons intensifier les efforts mondiaux pour soutenir la production de versions génériques des médicaments et veiller à la mise en place de systèmes permettant la préqualification et l’adoption rapides de ces produits.

Cette nouvelle contribution permettra également de financer davantage d’achats et de livraisons d’oxygène, et de soutenir la réparation, l’entretien et l’augmentation de la production locale d’oxygène médical dans les PRFM. Ces initiatives aideront à répondre aux besoins essentiels en oxygène médical de 6 à 8 millions de patients atteints de COVID-19 sévère et critique d’ici septembre 2022.

“Compte tenu d’une couverture vaccinale limitée dans les PRFM et de nombreux pays toujours confrontés à des taux d’hospitalisation élevés, il existe un besoin continu d’un accès efficace à l’oxygène et aux médicaments. Unitaid salue le fort soutien du Canada pour assurer un accès fiable et équitable à ces produits qui sauvent des vies”, a déclaré Dr Philippe Duneton, directeur exécutif d’Unitaid.

Ce financement, qui vient s’ajouter à la contribution de l’année dernière, porte à 35 millions de dollars canadiens le soutien direct du Canada à Unitaid pour un accès équitable aux traitements de la COVID-19.

Contact pour les médias:

Sarah Mascheroni

Chargée de communication

Email: mascheronisa@who.int

Mobile: +41 79 728 73 11

Déclaration d’Unitaid sur les lignes directrices de l’OMS concernant l’utilisation de l’antiviral molnupiravir dans le traitement de la COVID-19

Genève – Unitaid salue aujourd’hui la recommandation conditionnelle de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS) concernant le recours au molnupiravir pour traiter les patients adultes atteints d’une forme légère ou modérée de COVID-19 et les plus à risque de développer une forme grave de cette maladie.

Les traitements ambulatoires administrés par voie orale pourraient changer radicalement la gestion de la COVID-19. Ils constituent un élément crucial de la réponse mondiale à la pandémie, étant susceptibles de sauver des vies et d’alléger la pression exercée sur les systèmes de santé, et sont une avancée importante vers la réalisation de l’engagement à déployer des stratégies pour dépister et traiter au plus vite dans les environnements décentralisés.

Le molnupiravir est le premier antiviral administré par voie orale et destiné aux patients non hospitalisés atteints d’une forme légère ou modérée de COVID-19 à être recommandé par l’OMS. Il vient s’ajouter aux options thérapeutiques existantes qui constituent l’ensemble de soins cliniques recommandé pour traiter la COVID-19.

Administré aux premiers stades de l’infection et pendant cinq jours consécutifs, ce médicament antiviral, conçu par MSD en collaboration avec Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, peut éviter la progression vers une forme grave de la maladie, réduire le risque d’hospitalisation et raccourcir la durée des symptômes. La recommandation de l’OMS souligne la nécessité de prendre en compte les contre-indications du molnupiravir pour en garantir une utilisation appropriée.

Ce traitement nouvellement recommandé représente une grande avancée dans le travail préparatoire mené par Unitaid et ses partenaires afin d’introduire rapidement de nouveaux traitements en plus d’un dépistage adéquat dans les pays à revenus faibles et intermédiaires. Ce travail au niveau mondial est exécuté par l’intermédiaire du partenariat Traitements du Dispositif pour accélérer l’accès aux outils de lutte contre la COVID-19 (Accélérateur ACT), incluant des partenaires tels que le Fonds mondial, l’UNICEF, Unitaid et l’OMS.

En collaboration étroite avec le Medicines Patent Pool (Communauté de brevets pour les médicaments, MPP) ainsi qu’avec les laboratoires de princeps et les fabricants de génériques, le partenariat Traitements de l’Accélérateur ACT a permis de conclure des accords en vue de garantir un accès rapide et abordable au molnupiravir et de préparer une solide base d’approvisionnement de génériques destinée à plus de 100 pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire.

Il est toutefois nécessaire d’intensifier les efforts afin de combler les lacunes qui persistent en matière d’accès aux nouveaux traitements dans les pays à revenus faibles et intermédiaires. Pour cela, il convient de soutenir la production de versions génériques des médicaments et de veiller à la mise en place de systèmes permettant la préqualification et l’adoption rapides de ces produits.

D’autres traitements administrés en ambulatoire par voie orale sont en cours de développement, offrant des perspectives prometteuses pour la lutte contre la COVID-19. Un deuxième antiviral administré par voie orale, le nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, ainsi que d’autres composants, comme la fluvoxamine, sont en cours d’évaluation par l’OMS.

Contact pour les médias:

Sarah Mascheroni

Chargée de communication

Email: mascheronisa@who.int

Mobile: +41 79 728 73 11

Traduction en cours

FIND et Unitaid, par le biais de l’Accélérateur ACT, recherchent des organisations pour plaider et sensibiliser aux solutions de dépistage et de traitement de la COVID-19

FIND et Unitaid ont lancé aujourd’hui un appel à propositions pour sélectionner les services d’organisations ayant fait leurs preuves en matière de plaidoyer et de sensibilisation dans le domaine des soins de santé dans les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire, afin de mettre en œuvre des projets visant à atteindre les objectifs spécifiques ci-dessous :

  • Accroître l’accès et l’utilisation du dépistage et des traitements de la COVID-19, au fur et à mesure qu’ils sont recommandés, grâce à l’élaboration et à la mise en œuvre de stratégies de plaidoyer solides et fondées sur des données probantes, soutenues par des outils et des initiatives de plaidoyer, de connaissances et de communication adaptés aux groupes de population spécifiques, aux contextes régionaux et nationaux.
  • Diffuser et amplifier ces outils et initiatives par le biais de canaux de communication appropriés pour accroître la priorisation du dépistage et du lien au traitement de la COVID-19 dans la riposte nationale à la pandémie, ainsi que générer une demande pour le dépistage et les traitements au sein des groupes cibles pertinents.

Le dispositif pour accélérer l’accès aux outils de lutte contre la COVID-19 (Accélérateur ACT) est une collaboration mondiale innovante visant à accélérer le développement, la production et l’accès équitable aux tests, traitements et vaccins de la COVID-19. FIND co-gère le pilier Produits de diagnostic et le pilier Traitements est co-géré par Unitaid. Cet appel à propositions a été lancé sous l’égide du groupe de travail sur le plaidoyer, la communication et l’engagement communautaire (ACCE) du groupe de travail sur le soutien des pays du pilier Produits de diagnostic.

Cet appel à propositions vise à créer un environnement favorable à un accès accru et à une utilisation à plus grande échelle du dépistage de la COVID-19 et de l’établissement du lien avec les traitements dans les régions cibles (Afrique, Asie, Amérique latine, Moyen-Orient).

Nous recherchons en particulier des organisations au niveau des pays, y compris, mais sans s’y limiter, les responsables de la mise en œuvre du secteur de la santé, les agences de marketing, les organisations de plaidoyer, les organisations à but non lucratif, les organisations communautaires et de la société civile (CCSO), et les organisations confessionnelles.

L’enveloppe budgétaire totale pour cet appel à propositions s’élève à environ 2 millions de dollars. Ce montant sera réparti entre les partenaires sélectionnés avec une subvention moyenne d’au moins 50 000 dollars et d’un maximum de 100 000 dollars.

Les propositions, accompagnées des annexes/documents justificatifs, doivent être envoyées à FIND à l’adresse [advocacy_RFP@finddx.org] au plus tard le 2 février 2022 à 17h00 CET.

Deux webinaires sont organisés à l’attention des postulants pour présenter l’appel à propositions et répondre aux questions.

Appel à propositions pour le Développement et déploiement de stratégies de plaidoyer pour promouvoir les tests diagnostiques de la covid-19 et le lien avec les soins et le traitement dans les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire – date limite de soumission le 2 février 2022 à 17h00 CET.

Note : Les candidatures et les documents d’accompagnement peuvent être soumis en anglais, français, espagnol ou portugais. Si vous avez des questions sur la soumission d’une candidature ou les critères d’exclusion, veuillez écrire à : advocacy_rfp@finddx.org

Pour plus d’information : https://www.finddx.org/calls-for-partners

Contact pour les médias:

Sarah Mascheroni

Chargée de communication

Email: mascheronisa@who.int

Mobile: +41 79 728 73 11

 

Marisol Touraine, ancienne ministre française de la Santé, réélue à la présidence du Conseil d’administration d’Unitaid ; Unitaid est en bonne voie pour l’approbation de sa nouvelle stratégie pour 2022-2026

Geneva – At its virtual 39th meeting, the Unitaid Executive Board reelected Marisol Touraine as Board Chair for a further two-year term. Ms Touraine will continue in the position until June 2024.

Marisol Touraine is former French Minister of Social Affairs, Health and Women’s Rights and has served as chair of the Unitaid Executive Board since June 2019.

“I am grateful to the Executive Board for this vote of confidence,” said Ms Touraine. “I remain fully committed to support and ensure Unitaid delivers successfully on its mandate of making equitable access to innovative health solutions a reality for all.”

During her tenure as chair, Ms Touraine helped to strengthen Unitaid’s governance and create greater transparency and inclusivity. The Executive Board’s strategic leadership has brought clear guidance to the Secretariat and delivered informed decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. With sustained mobilization from the Board, Unitaid has gained visibility and recognition, triggering interest and contributions from new donors.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Unitaid has managed to adapt and evolve, demonstrating the relevance of its model and how its unique expertise and leadership is essential and complements the work of other key global health players in delivering effective solutions.

“I applaud the reelection of Marisol Touraine as chair of the Unitaid Executive Board. This is the result of her invaluable leadership and strategic guidance,” Unitaid Executive Director Dr Philippe Duneton said. “The renewal of her mandate is timely as Unitaid enters the last phase of developing its new strategic plan for the next five years. Marisol’s contribution and engagement alongside our Board members are key in the success of this endeavour.”

During this two-day session, the board also agreed on a strategic framework for Unitaid’s new strategy for 2022-26, keeping the Secretariat on track to approve its ambitious and transformative strategic plan next year.

This collaborative work the Secretariat is steering builds on Unitaid’s current strengths and reinforces its position in a fast-evolving global health landscape. It was developed based on lessons learnt from the   COVID-19 global health crisis and defines where and how Unitaid can bring the greatest impact.

The new strategy is a step forward in Unitaid’s ambition to bring innovative, integrated, end-to-end solutions to those who need them most. Fully financing its implementation will be key and continued support from the Executive Board for resource mobilization efforts remain crucial.

“We had very constructive and vivid discussions around Unitaid’s future during this board. I am pleased we have been able to bring together the richness of different perspectives and provide clear directions for the next steps of the development of our new strategy,” said Marisol Touraine.

“In addition to taking on a lead role in the global COVID-19 response, in 2021 we moved forward in developing our next strategy in collaboration with the Board and aggressively ramped up efforts to mobilize resources in an increasingly competitive environment,” Dr Duneton added. “I believe we are well prepared as an organization to meet the challenges ahead.”

Media contact

For more information and media requests:

Hervé Verhoosel

Mobile: +44 77 29 618 634

Email: verhooselh@unitaid.who.int

Unitaid marque la Journée mondiale de la pneumonie et appelle tous les partenaires à augmenter le financement de la réponse à la crise de l’oxygène

Geneva – On World Pneumonia Day, Unitaid calls on all partners to dramatically increase funding for the oxygen response and joins Every Breath Counts Coalition in urging high-burden country governments to take action to reduce air pollution-related pneumonia deaths.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, pneumonia was the world’s biggest infectious killer of adults and children with 2.5 million reported deaths in 2019. Almost a third of all pneumonia deaths were due to polluted air in 2019. This curable and preventable infectious disease remains the deadliest for children under five, claiming 670,000 lives each year; most deaths occurring among children under the age of one.

Coupled with antibiotics, medical oxygen could save the lives of many children who develop severe pneumonia. Access to medical oxygen commodities is therefore a vital component in the fight against pneumonia. Now, with the COVID-19 health crisis, the challenges around provision in low- and middle-income (LMICs) countries have never been greater.

Robert Matiru, Director of Programmes at Unitaid, warns that without increased efforts to address pneumonia and inequities in access to lifesaving tools, most low- and middle-income countries will not meet the related sustainable development goal targets set by the United Nations for 2030. The target for child mortality aims to end, by 2030, preventable deaths of new-borns and children under 5 years of age.

“We need more political commitment; we need additional investments for health products such as pulse oximeters for checking blood-oxygen level to detect severe disease as well as oxygen itself to save lives,” said Robert Matiru. “And lastly, we need more coordinated efforts among all partners at global, regional and country level.”

Since 2019, Unitaid and its partners have helped strengthen access to pulse oximeters adapted for children in primary health care facilities in LMICs. These efforts aim to address poor availability of pulse oximeters, improve the identification of hypoxaemia, and the onwards referral of severely sick children. Once hypoxaemia is identified, it is crucial that oxygen therapy is initiated as quickly as possible, but access to safe, affordable oxygen in LMICs remains low.

With the World Health Organization and Wellcome, Unitaid is leading global efforts to address barriers to oxygen access such as high pricing or lack of medical oxygen capacity. Together with multiple partners, we are working to assess and develop solutions adapted to the needs of countries such as pressure swing absorption plants, bulk liquid oxygen, as well as portable oxygen concentrators.

In addition to meet the immediate needs of the COVID-19 pandemic, this collaborative endeavour aims to leverage gains in access to medical oxygen commodities in order to help with long-term pneumonia control.

Media contact:

Sarah Mascheroni

Communications officer

Email: mascheronisa@who.int

Mobile: +41 79 728 73 11

FIND et Unitaid investissent 50 millions de dollars pour délivrer des solutions de dépistage et de traitement vitales au front de la lutte contre la pandémie de COVID-19

  • New funding to the COVID-19 response across seven complementary grants will help fill testing and treatment gaps
  • The grants, adapting novel strategies to the needs of 22 low- and middle-income countries, will focus on generating robust evidence for global scale-up
  • These grants have been made in the context of the diagnostics and the therapeutics pillars of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, designed to rapidly address global inequities in access to COVID-19 testing and treatment

Geneva, 9 November 2021 – FIND, Unitaid, and partners are joining forces to quickly deliver new end-to-end strategies that will accelerate and enhance improved access to diagnostics and treatment, while continuing to build capacity for test-trace-isolate and treatment efforts to contain the ongoing spread of the virus.

Seven grants aim to address inequities in access to COVID-19 testing and treatment, supporting early adoption of comprehensive care packages in low- and middle-income countries across Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Western Pacific, where testing capacity is insufficient and life-saving treatments are practically unavailable. The grants will generate high-quality evidence to inform the World Health Organization guidelines and national policies addressing the optimal approaches to scaling new testing and treatment solutions.

These investments are being made as promising new medicines are emerging, including the oral antiviral molnupiravir. Effective oral outpatient drugs would offer a widespread, scalable way to stop disease progression, reduce hospitalizations, ease the strain on health systems, and reduce deaths. If these drugs are recommended for use, they could be game changers in the pandemic: simple-to-use oral pills, easier and less expensive to produce in large volumes and easier to deliver in outpatient settings. Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator partners are anticipating a series of market interventions to ensure that, when proven safe and effective, the medicines are available in sufficient quantities and at the lowest possible price for all countries in need.

Promptly testing people with mild COVID-19 symptoms for rapid treatment initiation depends on strong links between COVID-19 testing and the availability of medicine across every country.

The new FIND–Unitaid co-investment coincides with the ACT-Accelerator’s renewed mandate for 2022 to accelerate the development and delivery of critical tools and respond to country needs. The updated ACT-Accelerator Strategic Plan notes that, for outpatient treatments, approaches to increasing access to testing and treatment will be key to ensure timely detection and linkage to care, in order to treat patients who may benefit most, including those in high-risk groups and healthcare workers.

The grants will leverage existing laboratory and testing networks to offer additional testing options, such as simple, accurate and affordable antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag RDTs) and COVID-19 self-tests. Decentralizing simple, affordable, rapid tests will enable quick linkages to care for vulnerable populations. The grants will also support the introduction of emerging therapeutics as they become recommended including new or repurposed medicines, small molecules, and monoclonal antibodies.

Aurum Institute/KNCV, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, FIOTEC, ISGlobal, Partners In Health, and Population Services International have been selected to implement the grants through a transparent, competitive process following a Request for Proposals launched in April this year among Unitaid’s current implementing partners. The selected global health organizations will build on their deep expertise and partnership with national authorities and civil society organizations in making health products more available and affordable in low- and middle-income countries for other diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and cervical cancer, and will be focusing on five main areas of work: evidence generation, catalytic implementation, enabling environment, demand creation to effective transition, and scale-up.

“As we continue to battle the pandemic on multiple fronts, the stark reality is that millions of people in many countries won’t have access to vaccines for months – so test-and-treat strategies are vital to save lives,” said Dr Bill Rodriguez, CEO of FIND. “With exciting new treatment options on the near horizon, we must work together to identify the people who need treatment and ensure they have access to effective therapies without delay.”

“With the number of COVID-19 reported cases and deaths increasing globally, the pandemic is far from over, and inequities in access to lifesaving health products persist,” Unitaid Executive Director, Dr Philippe Duneton, said. “Equitable access to innovative solutions to test and treat all eligible patients, adapted to the needs of low- and middle-income countries, is urgently needed to change the curve of the pandemic and help avert millions of deaths. This new co-investment from Unitaid and FIND will contribute to achieve this goal.”

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/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as HIV co-infections and co-morbidities such as 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. Unitaid is hosted by the World Health Organization.

 

About FIND

FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics, seeks to ensure equitable access to reliable diagnosis around the world. We connect countries and communities, funders, decision-makers, healthcare providers and developers to spur diagnostic innovation and make testing an integral part of sustainable, resilient health systems. We are working to save 1 million lives through accessible, quality diagnosis, and save US$1 billion in healthcare costs to patients and health systems. We are co-convener of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator diagnostics pillar, and a WHO Collaborating Centre for Laboratory Strengthening and Diagnostic Technology Evaluation.

 

About the ACT-Accelerator

The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator is a global coalition of organizations developing and deploying the new diagnostics, treatments and vaccines needed to end the acute phase of the pandemic. Pooling the expertise of its many partners, the ACT-Accelerator has quickly ushered in rapid, affordable tests and effective medicines, and established the COVAX facility for the equitable procurement and distribution of vaccines in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

Media contacts

For more information and media requests:

FIND

Sarah-Jane Loveday

Director of Communications

Mobile: +41 79 431 62 44

Email: media@finddx.org

 

Unitaid

Maggie Zander

Communications officer

Mobile: +41 79 593 17 74

Email: zanderm@unitaid.who.int

Déclaration d’Unitaid lors la réunion conjointe des ministres chargés des finances et de la santé du G20

Rome, 29 October – Executive Director of Unitaid, Dr Philippe Duneton, spoke today in a session on ‘Addressing the Current Pandemic’ as part of the G20 Finance and Health Ministers’ Meeting, 2021.

During the meeting, Dr Duneton reiterated the continued urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic – highlighting the risks posed by the emergence of new variants and the unequal access to vaccines – and announced three pieces of good news:

First, new antiviral medicines for COVID-19, which have shown to efficiently reduce the number of people hospitalized and deaths, are under review and should be available soon.

Second, there is a clear path to secure enough treatments to supply low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Novel treatments – such as molnupiravir, developed by MSD/Merck – are cheaper, in addition to being easier to produce and implement, than biological products. Creating generic markets for these antivirals is an urgent next step.

Third, MSD/Merck has agreed to grant voluntary licences to eight generic manufacturers. And this week, MSD/Merck signed a ground-breaking agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) – which was founded by Unitaid ten years ago – to expand the number of generic manufacturers.

Dr Duneton called on G20 members to encourage the private sector to increase the scope of countries that can benefit from this voluntary licence and to create access provisions to medicines that respond to public health needs.

Beyond expanding access, there is an urgent need to work with regulatory agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners to ensure that countries can receive and deliver these life-saving treatments.

Medical oxygen remains one of the main medicines available to treat hospitalized patients and prevent avoidable deaths. Despite recent progress, access to oxygen remains a challenge in many countries, warned Dr Duneton, highlighting the continued need for financing to support global demand.

The world still needs resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, reduce the number of people hospitalized, and save lives. Fully funding global response mechanisms such as the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) is crucial to bringing an end to the pandemic.

The ACT-A Therapeutics Pillar, co-led by Unitaid and Wellcome, needs an estimated US$3.5 billion to deliver treatments, including oxygen, over the next 12 months.

Following Dr. Duneton’s intervention, the G20 Ministers adopted a communiqué.

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/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as HIV co-infections and co-morbidities such as 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. Unitaid is hosted by the World Health Organization.

 

About the ACT-Accelerator

The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator is a global coalition of organizations developing and deploying the new diagnostics, treatments and vaccines needed to end the acute phase of the pandemic. Pooling the expertise of its many partners, the ACT-Accelerator has quickly ushered in rapid, affordable tests and effective medicines, and established the COVAX facility for the equitable procurement and distribution of vaccines in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

Media contacts

For more information and media requests:

Unitaid

Maggie Zander

Mobile: +41 79 593 17 74

Email: zanderm@unitaid.who.int