Global leaders led by African Heads of State have today announced the first in a series of pledges to accelerate progress against malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) at the historic Kigali Summit on Malaria and NTDs. Hosted by His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, the Kigali Summit featured commitments totalling more than $US 4 billion including funding from governments, international organisations, philanthropists, and private sector support. In addition, 18 billion tablets have been donated by pharmaceutical companies for
The Stop TB Partnership today released new data showing how the COVID-19 pandemic and dismally low levels of funding represent the main barriers to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of ending TB by 2030. The data from 2021 shows that the impact of COVID-19 on the TB response has continued to be profound: 1.2 million fewer people have been diagnosed and treated for TB in in 2021 with four months still left in the calendar year. Currently, only
COVID-19 vaccine inequity will have a lasting and profound impact on socio-economic recovery in low- and lower-middle income countries without urgent action to boost supply and assure equitable access for every country, including through dose sharing, according to new data released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the University of Oxford. An acceleration in scaling up manufacturing and sharing enough vaccine doses with low-income countries could have added $38 billion to their GDP
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has drummed support for improved investments in health systems. According to the organisation’s Director-General, investments in health systems can boost the economy in addition to preventing damage. Speaking at a panel discussion on the intersection of health and economics that was organised by the London School of Economics on 17 March 2021, WHO DG Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the WHO has been trying to make the economic case for investing in health. “The pandemic has made the
Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, and other countries across the continent and beyond that qualify to enjoy support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance will benefit from the final approval of the United States’ commitment to provide Gavi with US$ 4 billion in COVID-19 supplemental funding. These resources, which were included in a larger omnibus funding package, will ensure that lower-income economies have equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, helping to end the acute phase of the pandemic. In a statement, Gavi