Latest news with #GlobalFund
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
US defunding puts fight against AIDS, TB and malaria in jeopardy
Progress in tackling TB and other killer infectious diseases could be at risk as America and smaller donors pull back their supports, the Global Fund executive director has warned. The fund, supported by Ireland and other EU countries as well as the Gates Foundation and private donors, spends around $5bn annually tackling AIDS, TB and malaria in over 120 countries. Peter Sands warned: 'We actually ended 2024 with a real sense of momentum in the fight against TB, but since then we've had some major disruptions to ODA (official development assistance) and global health funding. 'So there is a real risk at this point as to whether or not we can sustain that momentum.' While the covid-19 pandemic disrupted aid programmes, he said until recently there was 'a strong recovery' in TB statistics. President Trump's shock defunding of USAID and other programmes, as well as cuts by Britain and others, have changed that landscape. Some 95% of HIV funding worldwide was either through the American PEPFAR funds or the Global Fund. The sudden drop in American funding is 'a significant concern', according to Mr Sands. 'So in some countries for example we would buy the antiretroviral treatments (for HIV patients) and PEPFAR would pay for the clinics,' he said. It means these gaps now have to be filled. Mr Sands visited Dublin this week to discuss Ireland's contribution to the fund's next three-year cycle. Ireland has donated over €339m since 2001. He welcomed Ireland's donations and its 'active engagement' in the board and other works. 'There's a moral argument for stopping so many people dying from a disease we know how to treat and can stop,' he said. 'There's also a more self-interested argument that says we're playing with fire by not getting more on top of it.' The fund buys from Ireland too including rapid diagnostic tests and medicines mainly for HIV programmes. Last year this came to about $4m (€3.5m). It also supports the buying of medicines at large-scale to negotiate lower prices. For example, a year's supply of HIV antiviral treatment dropped from $10,000 per person per year in 2002 to about $35 now, he explained. 'So we continue to drive the cost down working with manufacturers,' he said. Malaria is a particular concern as it is now spreading due to climate change. He added: 'It's the biggest killer of children in Sudan now. To put in perspective, some of the poorest countries in the world are having an intensity of disease burden that feels like the worst of covid-19 all the time. 'If you go to hospitals and clinics in somewhere like Chad or northern Nigeria 50% to 80% of the activity in those health facilities is malaria all the time.' In Ukraine, the fund supports a local NGO to run mobile health clinics especially for areas where hospitals were destroyed by the conflict. 'They have a significant HIV and TB challenge which has been made worse by the war,' he said. Doctors had to develop 'quite sophisticated tracking systems' to make sure people continue to receive the right treatment even when they flee to safer areas, he said.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
Gilead commits to HIV prevention rollout for low-income countries despite funding uncertainty
Gilead Sciences says it still plans to supply its twice-yearly injection for preventing HIV infection in low-income countries if it wins U.S. approval despite funding uncertainty over the Trump Administration's pullback in aid spending. Some AIDS experts, including activists and doctors, say the Gilead drug, lenacapavir, could help end the 44-year-old epidemic that infects 1.3 million people a year and is estimated by the World Health Organization to have killed more than 42 million. An FDA approval decision is expected by June 19 for lenacapavir, which proved to be nearly 100% effective at preventing HIV in large trials. If the Food and Drug Administration green lights the drug, and its view is seconded by the WHO, the shots could start to roll out early in 2026 to at least 2 million people in 18 low-income countries based on Gilead's agreement with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund, a worldwide partnership targeting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Gilead agreed to provide lenacapavir at cost for two-to-three years while six generic drugmakers, which were granted licenses to make the medicine for low-income countries, ramp up production. Experts said a successful launch of a long-acting HIV prevention drug could help stall the epidemic. Until recently, the only pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) options for people at high risk of infection were daily pills, requiring careful adherence to be effective. "You can foresee a day where there are no new HIV diagnoses. It doesn't happen if we only do this in the U.S.," Gilead Chief Commercial Officer Johanna Mercier said. "We need to make sure we have a global approach to this launch." PEPFAR being part of the effort is Gilead's intent and goal, Mercier said. "Unfortunately, if they're not part of that mix, our goal is still to meet that objective of 2 million people getting access." Wall Street has a close eye on lenacapavir, one of the highest-profile drugs to undergo FDA review since President Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary and promised to upend the status quo. Most of the drug's profits are expected in the U.S., with annual sales reaching $1 billion by next year, according to analysts' estimates compiled by LSEG. 'INCREDIBLE DISMAY' Whether all of the agreed funding for low-income countries - most of which are in Africa - will come through is unclear. Countries that rely on aid are already reeling from funding cuts by the Trump Administration, including to PEPFAR, and AIDS researchers are bracing for the worst. The United Nations program on HIV/AIDS earlier this month said many HIV prevention programs supported by PEPFAR were stalled, although services for pregnant and breastfeeding women were technically exempt from the cuts. Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund, told Reuters the group intends to fund as much of the lenacapavir rollout as possible, but it will need to start slowly. "It's not just the uncertainty over PEPFAR's funding that's an issue, but the uncertainty over our funding," Sands said, adding that the group's first priority is treating people already infected with the deadly virus. Much will depend on the success of the Global Fund's effort to raise $18 billion to fund its work from 2027-2029. The U.S. is its largest donor, committing $6 billion in the previous funding round. It is unclear what the U.S. may provide this round, or whether other big governments will step up. UNAIDS estimates that the permanent discontinuation of HIV prevention and treatment programs supported by PEPFAR would lead to an additional 6.6 million new HIV infections between 2025 and 2029. The U.S. State Department, which oversees PEPFAR, did not respond to a request for comment. Gilead declined to comment on its manufacturing cost for lenacapavir, whose U.S. price is likely to be on par with current preventive medications at around $25,000 per year. ViiV Healthcare's Apretude, an injection given every two months, costs about 124.20 pounds ($168) in low- and middle-income countries. Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS nonprofit AVAC, estimates the eventual annual cost at $100-$120. The lower the price, the more people who could receive it, he said. Warren said PEPFAR could still participate, and others may come forward. The Gates Foundation and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation are "actively involved in all of these conversations," he said, as is the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Linda-Gail Bekker of the University of Cape Town, who led lenacapavir clinical trials in South Africa and Uganda, said she was elated when she first saw the findings. "The huge feeling I have now is one of incredible dismay," said Bekker of uncertainty over the Trump administration's commitment to PEPFAR and HIV prevention in poor nations. "It felt like the stars were aligning, and one of the stars has fallen out of the sky." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Gilead commits to HIV prevention rollout for low-income countries despite funding uncertainty
May 30 (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences says it still plans to supply its twice-yearly injection for preventing HIV infection in low-income countries if it wins U.S. approval despite funding uncertainty over the Trump Administration's pullback in aid spending. Some AIDS experts, including activists and doctors, say the Gilead drug, lenacapavir, could help end the 44-year-old epidemic that infects 1.3 million people a year and is estimated by the World Health Organization to have killed more than 42 million. An FDA approval decision is expected by June 19 for lenacapavir, which proved to be nearly 100% effective at preventing HIV in large trials. If the Food and Drug Administration green lights the drug, and its view is seconded by the WHO, the shots could start to roll out early in 2026 to at least 2 million people in 18 low-income countries based on Gilead's agreement with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund, a worldwide partnership targeting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Gilead agreed to provide lenacapavir at cost for two-to-three years while six generic drugmakers, which were granted licenses to make the medicine for low-income countries, ramp up production. Experts said a successful launch of a long-acting HIV prevention drug could help stall the epidemic. Until recently, the only pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) options for people at high risk of infection were daily pills, requiring careful adherence to be effective. "You can foresee a day where there are no new HIV diagnoses. It doesn't happen if we only do this in the U.S.," Gilead Chief Commercial Officer Johanna Mercier said. "We need to make sure we have a global approach to this launch." PEPFAR being part of the effort is Gilead's intent and goal, Mercier said. "Unfortunately, if they're not part of that mix, our goal is still to meet that objective of 2 million people getting access." Wall Street has a close eye on lenacapavir, one of the highest-profile drugs to undergo FDA review since President Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary and promised to upend the status quo. Most of the drug's profits are expected in the U.S., with annual sales reaching $1 billion by next year, according to analysts' estimates compiled by LSEG. Whether all of the agreed funding for low-income countries - most of which are in Africa - will come through is unclear. Countries that rely on aid are already reeling from funding cuts by the Trump Administration, including to PEPFAR, and AIDS researchers are bracing for the worst. The United Nations program on HIV/AIDS earlier this month said many HIV prevention programs supported by PEPFAR were stalled, although services for pregnant and breastfeeding women were technically exempt from the cuts. Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund, told Reuters the group intends to fund as much of the lenacapavir rollout as possible, but it will need to start slowly. "It's not just the uncertainty over PEPFAR's funding that's an issue, but the uncertainty over our funding," Sands said, adding that the group's first priority is treating people already infected with the deadly virus. Much will depend on the success of the Global Fund's effort to raise $18 billion to fund its work from 2027-2029. The U.S. is its largest donor, committing $6 billion in the previous funding round. It is unclear what the U.S. may provide this round, or whether other big governments will step up. UNAIDS estimates that the permanent discontinuation of HIV prevention and treatment programs supported by PEPFAR would lead to an additional 6.6 million new HIV infections between 2025 and 2029. The U.S. State Department, which oversees PEPFAR, did not respond to a request for comment. Gilead declined to comment on its manufacturing cost for lenacapavir, whose U.S. price is likely to be on par with current preventive medications at around $25,000 per year. ViiV Healthcare's Apretude, an injection given every two months, costs about 124.20 pounds ($168) in low- and middle-income countries. Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS nonprofit AVAC, estimates the eventual annual cost at $100-$120. The lower the price, the more people who could receive it, he said. Warren said PEPFAR could still participate, and others may come forward. The Gates Foundation and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation are "actively involved in all of these conversations," he said, as is the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Linda-Gail Bekker of the University of Cape Town, who led lenacapavir clinical trials in South Africa and Uganda, said she was elated when she first saw the findings. "The huge feeling I have now is one of incredible dismay," said Bekker of uncertainty over the Trump administration's commitment to PEPFAR and HIV prevention in poor nations. "It felt like the stars were aligning, and one of the stars has fallen out of the sky."
Medscape
22-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Global Health Bodies Could Team Up to Tackle Funding Crisis
LONDON (Reuters) -Two global health groups that fund billions of dollars worth of critical medical aid - from childhood vaccines to malaria treatments - are in talks about merging some functions to help combat a financing crunch, their chief executives told Reuters. The groups – the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the vaccine group Gavi – said they had been discussing working more efficiently together for several years, but a massive pull-back on government-funded aid budgets, led by the Trump administration, has given the talks more urgency. 'I think the crisis – and it is a crisis, what we're facing in global health right now – is an impetus to think hard about the shape and structure of the global health ecosystem,' Peter Sands, chief executive of the Global Fund, told Reuters. Gavi and the Global Fund set up a working group in autumn last year to work more closely together and explore merging some functions, joined by the World Bank's Global Financing Facility for women and girls. The group's work, which is ongoing, has not been previously reported. 'The idea is not to bring these massive structures together, the idea is to work better at the country level… to make life for countries easier,' said Sania Nishtar, Gavi chief executive. Sands and Nishtar spoke to Reuters during the World Health Organization's annual meeting in Geneva, at which budget cuts and efficiencies were high on the agenda. Nishtar gave an example of Gavi in Nigeria helping local health officials give children measles and rubella vaccines, while Global Fund supported them giving bed nets to their parents to help prevent malaria. Previously, the two groups might have had separate desks, supply chains, data, staff, logistics, and guidelines, and even warehouses. That should be done better, she said. Working together on rolling out the malaria vaccine, led by Gavi, alongside other malaria tools like preventive drugs, which the Global Fund manages, had also prompted greater cooperation. The Global Fund is trying to raise $18 billion for its work from 2027-2029, and Gavi is trying to raise $9 billion for 2026-2030. Donors told Reuters that they are pushing for efficiencies as they consider how much to pledge to the groups, which have saved millions of lives since beginning work in the early 2000s. A Gavi spokesperson said it had started a voluntary departure scheme among its 650 staff and consultants and was working to streamline operations. The Global Fund has around 1,200 staff and declined to comment on potential cuts. Advocates including Bill Gates, a major global health funder through his foundation, said he had been talking to governments about the essential role the two organisations play. 'Being an advocate and making sure the money is well-spent, that is part of my role,' he told Reuters earlier this month. (Reporting by Jennifer Rigby, editing by Michele Gershberg and Elaine Hardcastle)
Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
Global vaccine and health bodies could team up more to tackle US-led funding crisis
Global vaccine and health bodies could team up more to tackle US-led funding crisis LONDON - Two global health groups that fund billions of dollars worth of critical medical aid - from childhood vaccines to malaria treatments - are in talks about merging some functions to help combat a financing crunch, their chief executives told Reuters. The groups – the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the vaccine group Gavi – said they had been discussing working more efficiently together for several years, but a massive pull-back on government-funded aid budgets, led by the Trump administration, has given the talks more urgency. 'I think the crisis – and it is a crisis, what we're facing in global health right now – is an impetus to think hard about the shape and structure of the global health ecosystem,' Peter Sands, chief executive of the Global Fund, told Reuters. Gavi and the Global Fund set up a working group in autumn last year to work more closely together and explore merging some functions, joined by the World Bank's Global Financing Facility for women and girls. The group's work, which is ongoing, has not been previously reported. 'The idea is not to bring these massive structures together, the idea is to work better at the country level… to make life for countries easier,' said Sania Nishtar, Gavi chief executive. Sands and Nishtar spoke to Reuters during the World Health Organization's annual meeting in Geneva, at which budget cuts and efficiencies were high on the agenda. Nishtar gave an example of Gavi in Nigeria helping local health officials give children measles and rubella vaccines, while Global Fund supported them giving bed nets to their parents to help prevent malaria. Previously, the two groups might have had separate desks, supply chains, data, staff, logistics, and guidelines, and even warehouses. That should be done better, she said. Working together on rolling out the malaria vaccine, led by Gavi, alongside other malaria tools like preventive drugs, which the Global Fund manages, had also prompted greater cooperation. The Global Fund is trying to raise $18 billion for its work from 2027-2029, and Gavi is trying to raise $9 billion for 2026-2030. Donors told Reuters that they are pushing for efficiencies as they consider how much to pledge to the groups, which have saved millions of lives since beginning work in the early 2000s. A Gavi spokesperson said it had started a voluntary departure scheme among its 650 staff and consultants and was working to streamline operations. The Global Fund has around 1,200 staff and declined to comment on potential cuts. Advocates including Bill Gates, a major global health funder through his foundation, said he had been talking to governments about the essential role the two organisations play. 'Being an advocate and making sure the money is well-spent, that is part of my role,' he told Reuters earlier this month. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
