Unitaid strengthens malaria response by targeting threats to progress

Unitaid is to intensify its contribution to fighting malaria by targeting pregnant women and their babies, who are especially at risk, and promoting new approaches to overcome mounting resistance to existing tools for controlling the deadly mosquito-borne disease.

Meeting in Geneva, the Executive Board announced that Unitaid would focus malaria investments in three areas: expanding access to preventive chemotherapy in pregnant women; accelerating adoption of innovative vector control tools to combat emerging mosquito resistance to insecticide; and fast-tracking introduction of emergency treatments for life-threatening severe malaria.

Global health goals call for the 90 percent reduction of malaria cases and deaths and the elimination of malaria from at least 35 countries by 2030.  Despite a 37 percent fall in malaria cases worldwide since 2000, gains are fragile with deaths from the disease exceeding 400,000 in 2015, almost 80 percent of them children under the age of five.

Each of the areas targeted by Unitaid addresses serious challenges that could weaken efforts to end malaria:

• More than 40 percent of pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa are not being reached by preventive treatment for malaria. As a result, up to 200,000 deaths of newly born babies are linked to malaria infections during pregnancy.
• The effectiveness of insecticide-treated mosquito nets and of spraying of homes with insecticide is being undermined as malaria mosquitoes develop resistance to these chemicals, posing a big threat to progress against the disease.
• A significant number of children are dying from severe malaria, when the disease is so acute that it seriously endangers life. Unitaid will pilot test the use in countries of rectal artesunate, an emergency treatment that can buy enough time for a child to be taken to a health facility for curative therapy.

The Executive Board also asked Unitaid to explore how its investments could help improve access to diagnostic tests and treatments through channels such as private health facilities, village stores and informal vendors, which are an important conduit for healthcare especially in rural areas in Africa.

By defining clear areas for intervention to guide its work, Unitaid is ensuring that its grants drive innovation in support of global health goals and are more focused and efficient in a way that achieves more impact with scarce resources.

“Unitaid is positioning itself as a very competent facilitator that helps develop innovative ideas and solutions to fight killer diseases and make them accessible to countries at affordable prices,” said Marta Mauras Perez, Vice-Chair of the Board, who stood in for the Chair Philippe Douste-Blazy, who had an official travelling engagement. “Unitaid has reached an important new stage in its evolution as an organization that develops crucial tools in the fight against the three diseases.”

The Board also approved a broadening of the scope of an extended grant to the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) beyond the original focus of HIV to include tuberculosis and hepatitis C.

MPP, which is wholly funded by Unitaid, seeks to develop better treatments that are better adapted to people’s needs and to lower drug prices through licensing agreements with patent holders.

A process was also launched by the Board to develop a new five-year strategy for 2017-21 that will ensure that Unitaid constantly adapts to a fast-changing global health environment.