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Great news for Global Health
It’s a crazy week with all that’s been going on in New York at the UN and Clinton Global Initiative but before the world’s attention turns to the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, I wanted to flag two pieces of great news on global health that came out this afternoon, which you understandably may have missed.
First, it was announced that an extra $1 billion has been secured in support of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), which funds major programmes to protect children from preventable diseases, such as pneumonia, measles, meningitis and diarrheal diseases. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown helped make the announcement yesterday during one of the many events in New York. GAVI will use the additional funding not only to support and distribute more vaccinations to save more children’s lives from these diseases, but also to improve health systems in comprehensive ways in poor countries.
ONE sees this as an especially important announcement in light of the fact of last week’s historic UNICEF report on child mortality, which found the number of children dying before their fifth birthdays each year had been cut to the lowest level ever on record—8.8 million. This progress was largely thanks to scaled up support for relatively inexpensive solutions, many of which GAVI supports, such as vaccinations and supplements.
However, the UNICEF report also found that although great gains were made thanks to the targeting of many major diseases, a lack of investment in pneumonia and diarrheal diseases have made them the two main causes of children’s deaths worldwide. Today’s $1 billion announcement means that vaccines that can help prevent deaths from these two diseases—which account for 3 million deaths each year—will be available soon at greatly reduced costs through GAVI.
As ONE’s President David Lane said in a press release ONE put out: “We know how to stop deaths from pneumonia and diarrheal diseases, but these conditions are the biggest killers of children under five. Today’s GAVI announcement is an important step to accelerate progress in areas where we’ve seen big results, but will also target more diseases that so far have not been targeted and that needlessly take the lives of children.”
The second big announcement was a new airline ticket programme that will allow you to voluntarily contribute $2 each time you fly to help fight global disease. The programme was announced today, also in New York, by the U.N. agency UNITAID, which is attached to the World Health Organization. UNITAID helps reduce the costs of treatment for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, making these lifesaving medicines available to those that need them.
As David Lane said in the press release: “Paying $2 to help save lives in the fight against preventable disease sure beats baggage fees.”
The initiative, which in particular will help fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa as well as help improve maternal health, is backed by several major travel industry companies, the Clinton Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Recipients of the donations will include UNICEF and the Clinton Foundation. It looks like you can expect to see the initiative start at airports this January.
We expect lots more news in the days ahead, so stay tuned to the blog. To read more about ONE’s reaction to today’s two announcements, you can see ONE’s full press release here.
-Steve Wilson
Discoveries: New Strain of HIV and Origins of Malaria
The month of August has seen two important scientific discoveries, including a new strain of HIV found in humans, and the identification of malaria’s origins.
As reported in the weekly journal Nature Medicine, scientists have discovered a new strain of HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), and have linked its origins to gorillas. The other three known variants of HIV have all been linked to chimpanzees. Scientists believe the new virus was probably transmitted from gorillas to humans through the handling or eating of ape meat, though it could have been transmitted from chimpanzees to gorillas, and then to humans (or directly to humans and then gorillas).
Additionally, research on malaria’s origins by a team of scientists was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers identified chimpanzees as the source of the P. falciparum malaria parasite which entered the human population approximately 10,000 years ago via mosquitoes. Researchers emphasized the importance of understanding the origin and genetic behavior of pathogens like malaria, especially when trying to create a vaccine.
These discoveries are part of the continuous effort to monitor how viruses and parasites jump from species to species and emerge in human populations. If emerging infectious diseases are detected early enough, hopefully pandemics can be prevented.
-Rena Pacheco-Theard
Today is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day!
Did you know - despite everything we’ve learned about HIV, the number of new infections each year is close to what it was in the mid-1990s: the total figure today is 2.7 million? Antiretroviral treatment (ART) helps keep HIV at low levels within the body, but ART can have side effects and must be taken every day for a lifetime. What’s more, access to life-saving treatment can be an issue for people living with HIV in developing countries. Thanks to programs like the Global Fund and PEPFAR, treatment is increasingly available, but it still only reaches a third of people who need it to survive.
We must continue to extend current prevention, care and treatment options to as many people as possible to mitigate AIDS here and now, but we must also invest in the future to bring the epidemic to an end. Continued investment in prevention research, to include new tools like vaccines, microbicides and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), will produce net savings in the long term – and save lives.
In fact, only vaccines have historically ended major viral epidemics. They are proven to be cost-effective and practical. There will be an AIDS vaccine in our lifetime, and we must continue the search.
So today, on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, I urge you to become informed about AIDS vaccine research. We all have a role to play whether it is as advocates, volunteers, health professionals or researchers.
- Checkout NIAID’s information hub around HIV Vaccine Awareness Day
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) has a new website, which features an interview with Dr Anthony S. Fauci (Director, NIAID)
- Global Health TV recently posted four interviews with leading AIDS advocates about their commitment to finding an AIDS vaccine
- IAVI President & CEO, Seth Berkley, recently gave a talk at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) as part of their Global Health Policy Center’s speaker series
For those of you reading this blog who are already involved – today (and every day) is an opportunity to say thank you!
-Nicole Schiegg, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative–Washington, D.C.
How The President is Doing
This afternoon, I watched a webcast on the global health component of President Obama’s proposed budget for 2010 hosted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. ONE’s Senior Director for U.S. Government Relations, Tom Hart, sat on the panel which included distinguished guests such as Zeke Emanuel from the Office of Management and Budget, Tim Westmoreland from Georgetown Law and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Allen Moore of the Stimson Center.
Here are some highlights:
Zeke Emanuel: President Obama’s commitment of $63 billion to global health over the next six years represents a major mark for what he hopes to accomplish during his Administration. The themes underlying the new Global Health Initiative indicate that health cannot be addressed one disease at a time, especially in the developing world. Thinking holistically about health means that maternal and child health, neglected tropical diseases, and health system infrastructure needs to be considered in an integrated manner parallel to interventions for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. This does not mean that priority diseases are no longer a concern of the Administration – HIV/AIDS is not disappearing off the map. Nearly 75% of the proposed 2010 budget for global health goes to PEPFAR and as the Global Health Initiative progresses, the PEPFAR program will have 70% of the total. While it is not possible to solve all health problems at once, health problems have effects on the entire system. This must be kept in mind as the response to health crises in developing countries shifts from emergency to sustainability. An inter-agency task force is meeting to discuss how best to coordinate the U.S. agenda on global health, and Congress has requested a strategic plan for PEPFAR which will be released in October.
Tim Westmoreland: This budget year is unlike any other because of the financial crisis. While the total federal budget will be approximately $3.5 trillion, a lot of this is already claimed for mandatory programs like insurance. There is about $1.2 trillion available for discretionary spending programs, and global health might be about one half of one percent of this piece of the budget pie. However, Congress has already called for significant cuts to discretionary spending, so it will be hard to find additional money for global health. The President’s budget proposal calls for growth in the resources available for global health. However, even this will fall behind the growth in diseases, and what is needed to address them. It’s the role of advocates not to accept what has been laid out and to talk about what the need is. Percentage growth over an inadequate base is not a good place to start. “Bankers aren’t censoring themselves and advocates shouldn’t either.”
Tom Hart: While the proposal is not enough, in the context of the financial crisis, President Obama’s announcement of the Global Health Initiative was welcome. Over a six year timeframe, it looks possible to achieve good progress with a more comprehensive global health approach, even though some details have yet to be fleshed out. However, it is more sobering for 2010. ONE is looking forward to working with Congress to improve the funding levels in 2010 for PEPFAR and Global Fund as well as to realize the proposals made for the coming six years. When we do this, we need to be politically shrewd and keep the discussions vibrant, and interesting. PEPFAR focused on real goals (treat 2 million people, prevent 7 million infections, and care for 10 million people infected with HIV). ONE encourages the Administration to do the same with this $63b health initiative because otherwise the funding numbers become the end in themselves. Also, the link to national security is a powerful one, and Secretary Gates has been one of the biggest advocates of this.
Allen Moore: The unique economic environment puts even more pressure than normal on increasing foreign assistance. Members of Congress and Senators have to respond to priorities of people back home – spending overseas appears as not focusing on home priorities. All these factors are exacerbated now. As Congress heads into Appropriations, it is clear there is a relatively small amount of money that will go into subcommittees. These subcommittees will pay attention to Obama’s priorities but also have their own priorities to be responsive to constituents. Advocates have to know the facts to be effective in calling for increases for global health.
-Lisa Fleisher
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day is May 18th
Here’s a little known fact. Hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic, developing countries are also hard at work on new tools to prevent HIV. Those who bear the biggest burden of the AIDS pandemic are doing their part to ensure that we have a vaccine for future generations. HIV Vaccine Awareness Day is an occasion to thank the thousands of volunteers, community members, health professionals, and scientists who are working together to find a safe and effective AIDS vaccine. It is also an opportunity to underscore that supporting science and technology are core elements of good development policy.
Dr. Seth Berkley, IAVI’s President and CEO, blogged yesterday “that the Obama administration should extend its fervor for science to its foreign aid policy, putting science and technology at the heart of U.S. assistance to the developing world.” The full post can be found here.
For those of you in the Washington, DC area today, May 11th please come listen to leading African scientists talk about the novel research they are doing to help advance AIDS vaccine science. The Global Health Council, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) are co hosting a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill at 2 PM in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 419. For more information, please contact: Sara Jane Muratori at smuratori@iavi.org.
If you are not in DC, please checkout Global Health TV. Leading AIDS advocates share their commitment to finding a vaccine: Dr David Kihumuro Apuuli, director-general of the Uganda AIDS Commission and Dr Seth Berkley, IAVI. Additional interviews will be posted leading up to HIV Vaccine Awareness Day.
-Nicole Schiegg, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative – Washington, DC
A Success in Addis Ababa
Last night, I held a “Idol Gives Back” watch party here in Columbus, Ohio. After watching a segment on AIDS orphans Melanie Berichon, a ONE member who attended, shared the below story with us. I had her write it down so I could share it with all of you.
“This past summer, I was in Addis Ababa. I was able to spend quite some time at a wonderful orphanage for HIV+ children.
Once they started getting the ARVs that were needed and at a fair price, children stopped dying. And so money that they used to save to pay for children’s coffins is now being used for growth and development, empowering the organization to grow and help so many more people.
There aren’t words to describe the feeling I had when seeing so many life saving drugs arrive at the orphanage.”
–
I just wanted to share. Looking forward to seeing tonight’s show too.
-Katie Andrews, ONE regional field organizer
Highlights from Caceres: Mid-term Review of the Global Fund
We noted last week that donors met in Spain from March 31 to April 1 to review the progress and funding needs of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Here are some highlights from the communiqué.
Results show the Global Fund is having a significant impact: Michel Kazatchkine, the Global Fund’s Executive Director said that the Global Fund “is affecting the course of these three epidemics.” With commitments reaching $15 billion since inception in 2002, the Global Fund has provided support for more than 600 programs in 140 countries. The Minister of Health from Nigeria, the Honorable Babatunde Osotimehin, presented findings on Nigeria’s malaria prevention and control efforts, including contributions from the Global Fund of 4 million long-lasting insecticide treated nets and 18 million doses of ACTs. Burkina Faso’s Minister of Health, the Honorable Seydou Bouda, described many gains in malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS supported by the Global Fund, including 1.2 million children under five receiving ACTs, among others. (Stay tuned for more on Global Fund results coming later this week!)
Donors agreed that with the growth of Global Fund programs, long-term sustainability becomes even more important. Increased domestic financing for health from Global Fund recipients was one area emphasized as a way to improve sustainability. Nigeria and Burkina Faso both pledged full commitment to this. On the Global Fund side, participants asked that cost effectiveness and efficiency opportunities be pursued so that results can be maximized with available funding.
Demand for funding has increased so much that the Global Fund now estimates there is a $4 billion gap between resources currently available and those needed to meet the $13.5 billion demand from countries for 2008-2010. With what is currently available, Round 8 could be fully funded, but there is only $0.9 billion for Round 9 and subsequent rounds. The Global Fund Board will begin approving new grants in November of this year, so there is an urgent need for donors to address the funding gap. Spain has already shown its commitment, and was congratulated for increasing its contribution to $213 million. Other donors confirmed that that they expect to meet the commitments made in Berlin 2007. ONE is hoping they will in fact follow through on their commitments so the Global Fund can continue to support countries in their efforts to fight AIDS, TB, and malaria.
-Lisa Fleisher
Touring A Rwandan Clinic
Another video and post from ONE’s Tom Gavin from last week’s trip to Rwanda.
Monday, July 21:
The U.S. launched PEPFAR – the American global AIDS strategy – at the Masaka Clinic in 2004, so it made for a good place for the ONE delegation to visit and assess how things are going. Our delegation met with doctors, nurses, local officials, and patients seeking treatment and counsel from the clinic’s staff. We heard, time and again, the difference that America’s partnership in health care was making in Rwanda and throughout Africa.
The DATA Report, which ONE released earlier this year, shows the progress being made. It points out that, across Africa, nearly 2.12 million people were on antiretroviral therapy by last December, a huge jump from the 50,000 people on treatment in 2002. That means 30 percent of Africans in need of treatment are receiving it. But there remains a major challenge ahead. An additional 1.7 million Africans became infected with the HIV virus in 2007.
After touring the Masaka Clinic, some of the ONE delegation discussed the site visit and the overall trip with reporters.
-Tom Gavin
On-the-ground in Zambia
Yesterday morning, I traveled with fellow ONE staff to several health-focused development programs in Lusaka, Zambia. (The country is gorgeous and we’ve taken incredible photos, but because of some technical issues I’ll have to wait until next week to post a few here.)
A couple of today’s highlights were visiting with the Matero Refferal Clinic - a health center in Lusaka that is heavily supported by the Center for Infectious Disease Research - and a meeting with the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative and the Zambia Minister of Health. All of the healthcare workers at the Matero Refferal Clinic were wonderful as they showed us around their extremely busy and well-organized clinic. They showed us a new wing they’re building for HIV/AIDS and general health, but they did let us know that they need more medical supplies and staff. There were two doctors at the facility who, combined, see 200 patients each day.
Of note, we learned that patients receiving AIDS treatment at the clinic also receive “nutritional portions” from the World Food Programme. Food is vital to the fight against AIDS. For people infected with HIV, proper nutrition can slow the progression of the virus to full-blown AIDS and improve the effectiveness of antiretrovirals. Unfortunately, at the Matero Refferal Clinic, the size of food portions has decreased from 45 kilograms 5 years ago to just 12 kilograms today. On top of this, many people receiving these small, individually-sized portions will also share the food with their full families.
The meeting with officials from the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) and the Zambia Ministry of Health was extremely informative as well. A main take-away: the government’s decision to focus its attention on children with HIV - combined with the government’s collaboration with NGOs and funding from international programs like PEPFAR - has more than doubled the number of children receiving life-saving AIDS-treatment in the country.
Throughout the day, the need for more trained healthcare workers was repeated by doctors, nurses and officials. This is a need that is echoed across Africa: Africa bears 25% of the global disease burden and has 14% of the world’s population- but just 1.3% of the world’s health care workforce. This deficit in capacity means that countries like Zambia face enormous obstacles in improving basic health care for children and scaling-up access to vital health interventions, such as HIV/AIDS treatment.
-Virginia Simmons
Alicia Keys Documentary Released
You can now watch Alicia Keys’ new documentary about her trip to Africa with the group Keep a Child Alive. Below, a excerpt from the film and a note from Alicia.
Hey ONE members
Check out my journey to Africa where I met some of the most inspirational people I have ever met in my life. People who are struggling but still retain an immense dignity. What my journey told me is that we must all come together as a global family to make ARVs available to children as early as possible. It also taught me that the millions of children orphaned by AIDS must be our priority. And keeping moms alive is the answer. So join me, start a virus to end a virus, tell everyone you know to watch this film at aliciainafrica.com. And thank you for caring.
Love,
Alicia Keys
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The International ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, with guest contributions from ONE volunteers, members and allies.
The content of each post and each comment represents the views of that author and does not necessarily reflect the views of ONE. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any post expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
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TAGS: HIV/AIDS, Health, Policy News, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Spotlight, UNAIDS, UNICEF, United Nations