News

The following statement—from Medicines for Malaria Venture and PATH, supported by the Global Health Technologies Coalition, Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, and Innovative Vector Control Consortium—was submitted to the 74th World Health Assembly on agenda item 34.1: Progress reports, including the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030.Our organizations, bringing together academia, industry and access partners, are devoted to developing and facilitating access to life-saving malaria prevention tools, diagnostics and medicines. Since the launch of the WHO Strategy, several innovations have helped transform the prevention and treatment of malaria, and saved millions of lives. These innovations include:The massive adoption of seasonal malaria chemoprevention.Improved tools for managing the continuum of care for severe malaria in children in rural settings.The first single-dose treatment and molecular diagnostic test for relapsing malaria, and a test to detect genetic anomalies limiting treatment options.The first wave of second-generation bednets with new insecticide combinations.We concur with WHO that we need to address the fragility of health systems, which leads to stalled progress. Malaria is a disease which is preventable and treatable, with strong primary health care and referral services and with capacity for supply and stockpiling of commodities in rural communities.We also endorse WHO’s statement that the need for investment in better tools is greater than ever. Scaled up investment in innovation also requires efficient processes for prequalification of products and revision of guidelines, along with technical support for early adoption of these new technologies in countries.We have today a robust portfolio of malaria tools in development, including potential vaccines. With sustained support for research and broad roll out of existing innovations in countries, the world will be soon much better equipped to move forward on the path to global malaria elimination.

The following statement—from Global Health Council, supported by the Global Health Technologies Coalition—was delivered at the 74th session of the World Health Assembly on agenda items 17: WHO’s work in health emergencies and strengthening preparedness for health emergencies and 18: Mental health preparedness for and response to the COVID 19 pandemic.More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, over one billion vaccine doses have been delivered globally. Yet access to vaccines and other lifesaving tools has not been equitable. The pandemic has spotlighted health inequities, which allow the virus to continue to spread, mutate, and overwhelm health systems—leaving marginalized populations further behind. These inequities were not borne of COVID-19 and inadequate investment and policy responses risk further widening the gap.We applaud WHO efforts to address inequities through strengthened international cooperation and support negotiations to improve international pandemic preparedness. Collective action is critical to end this pandemic, achieve equitable recovery, and create stronger, resilient systems and WHO must be in the lead. We support calls to maximize dose sharing through COVAX, fully fund the ACT-Accelerator, and commit political leadership to oversee response and recovery. We welcome the Director-General’s update on implementation of resolution WHA73.1—which acknowledges COVID-19 disruptions to essential health services—and urge Member States to increase investment in health systems to ensure continuity of services in pursuit of health for all. We need a holistic approach to health system strengthening. To prepare for future health emergencies, WHO and Member States must urgently improve global coordination, increase sustainable financing for preparedness, and invest in better and more effective surveillance systems and field epidemiology training. National and global responses to future health emergencies, must include:Investment in national leadership positions and action plans to increase global health security to fully reach IHR compliance;Prioritization of regional research and manufacturing capacity;Strengthened medical and pharmaceutical supply chains in advance of health emergencies; andIncorporation of pathogen spillover prevention and zoonotic risk assessment. Member States, WHO, and other stakeholders must promote an all-of-society approach to health system strengthening and pandemic preparedness that includes civil society engagement and addresses inequities at their roots. WHO must be well-resourced to prioritize a comprehensive preparedness agenda that ensures systems and services reach the last mile so that everyone is protected from future health emergencies. 

Interested in more global health innovation news? Every week GHTC scours media reports worldwide to deliver essential global health R&D news and content to your inbox. Sign up now to receive our weekly R&D News Roundup email. On Wednesday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine can be safely stored at refrigerator temperatures for up to a month, an expansion from the previous five-day limit. The authorization followed Pfizer’s submission of data to the agency supporting extended refrigerator storage of undiluted, thawed vials. The European Medicines Agency also authorized the change last week. The relaxed storage requirement should lead to more widespread availability of the vaccine by facilitating the ability of vaccine providers, such as community doctors’ offices, to receive, store, and administer the vaccine, according to Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. The Sanofi/GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) COVID-19 vaccine candidate generated strong levels of neutralizing antibodies in recipients across all ages studied, according to phase 2 trial results announced by the companies last week. No safety or tolerability concerns arose in the trial. The two-dose vaccine is a recombinant protein vaccine and does not require an elaborate cold chain for storage and distribution. Sanofi and GSK also noted that high neutralizing antibody levels were generated after a single dose in participants with evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, which could suggest its value also as a booster used after an initial vaccination series. A large, international phase 3 trial is set to begin in the coming weeks, and the companies also plan to conduct studies targeting various variants of concern.The United States committed to sending an additional 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to other countries last week, following an initial announcement that it would share 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not yet been authorized by the FDA. In Monday’s announcement, the Biden administration committed to sharing surplus supplies of the FDA-authorized Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, in addition to the AstraZeneca vaccine doses, for a total of 80 million doses sent overseas in the next six weeks. Currently, only 0.3 percent of all COVID-19 vaccine doses administered worldwide have been given in low-income countries.