Unitaid joins the Triple I for Global Health to strengthen global health impact investments
How Unitaid is supporting Brazil’s G20 health agenda with innovative solutions
The Group of Twenty (G20) convenes the world’s major economies to influence international policies on key issues such as trade, health, climate, and more. Led by Brazil this year, and within the G20 framework, specialized Working Groups made up of experts and officials from relevant ministries facilitate discussions on these topics as part of the collective decision-making process. The G20 health working group focuses on pressing global health issues and fosters international collaboration and collective action. Unitaid actively participates in the G20 Health Working Group, contributing expertise and resources to help shape effective health strategies and policies.
Discussions at this year’s G20 health working group meetings are focused on innovative approaches to today’s global health challenges while charting a path toward more resilient health systems. Under its G20 presidency, Brazil is steering the health agenda toward expansive and inclusive policies with an emphasis on four key priorities:
- Pandemic prevention, preparedness and response with a focus on local and regional production of medicines, vaccines and strategic health supplies
- The expansion of digital health technologies
- Equitable access to health innovations
- The integration of climate considerations into health policies
These four priority areas for the G20 come at a crucial moment, as the global health infrastructure buckles under post-pandemic realities on top of emerging threats like climate change and antimicrobial and insecticide resistance. Unitaid’s core work—with support from many G20 countries and observers—aligns well with Brazil’s key priority areas in addressing today’s challenges. By accelerating access to innovative health products in low- and middle-income countries, Unitaid is helping to create a more resilient global health system and stands ready to work with G20 members and the broader international community to advance these vital health priorities.
Concrete results expected of the G20 health working group this year include establishing a multilateral alliance for access, innovation and regional production. Unitaid welcomes the initiative of the Brazilian presidency to emphasize health equity in this proposal, recognizing that access is not an afterthought and that the needs of patients must be addressed from the research and development phase to product delivery. Equitable access to health innovation is the cornerstone of the Unitaid strategy and is a founding principle. Without specific intervention to ensure access, medical innovations typically take 10 years to reach the most vulnerable people. By the time key health products and medicines arrive in low- and middle-income countries, they lack market incentives and are maladapted to the needs of the population.
Equitable access to a lifesaving product requires that the product is developed in the first place, and collaborative research and development with a targeted agenda can address gaps in the public health response against key diseases where the market fails. As Brazil’s G20 presidency prioritizes local and regional production in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, Unitaid reiterates its dedication to supporting an equitable innovation agenda that can fast-track the development of new treatments and diagnostic tools that are fit to serve the populations in need. Likewise, dedicated efforts are ongoing at Unitaid to accelerate access to transformative new technologies, such as long-acting injectables and monoclonal antibodies, which may enable access to much-needed products today while equipping us for new threats in the future, including pandemics or climate-induced health crises.
Unitaid’s strategy extends to boosting regional production capabilities to ensure these vital resources are available to respond to major persistent health issues and crises, especially in low—and middle-income countries. We have seen that sustainable and competitive production of key quality-assured and price-competitive products at the regional level is viable. For example, with Unitaid support, the first African manufacturer attained the required WHO prequalification status to become a global supplier of lifesaving antimalarial medication. Thanks to a technology transfer from the UK and the Republc of Korea – facilitated by Unitaid and partners – regional production for COVID-19 rapid tests began in Senegal during the pandemic, and shifted to produce tests for other diseases beyond the crisis phase. There is now an opportunity to embrace dual-purpose investments that have a viable demand during inter-crisis periods and can pivot to producing pandemic products during health emergencies.
Regional manufacturing has been one of the tools in Unitaid’s market-shaping toolbox for access. To succeed, the following four elements must be met:
- First is the financial viability of regional production, which hinges on market prospects and sufficiently funded demand. Sustained efforts and collaboration are needed to foster demand aggregation and build regional markets large enough to benefit from economies of scale. G20 countries’ purchasing power is a key element to render such efforts viable, as very few countries are large enough to do this independently.
- Second, attaining global quality-assurance standards will enable regional manufacturers to rise as global and regional suppliers. There is a limited pool of manufacturers with sufficient production capacity and experience to meet the requisite quality assurance standards requested by domestic regulations and large purchase funds, undermining market viability.
- Third, creating more efficient regulatory processes across regional and global levels, particularly for new technologies. The complexity of overlapping and often conflicting regulatory processes across multiple mechanisms at the regional and global levels is a barrier.
- Fourth, building strategic plans built on robust analyses to ensure end-to-end viability of value chains, from the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients and other critical inputs, to the final formulation of finished pharmaceutical products(or diagnostic tests).
Regional manufacturing can also enable regions to customize and adapt health products to local contexts where global innovation is not adapted or insufficient; it can enhance local expertise, support knowledge transfer and capacity building, bridge the gap between innovation and manufacturing capacity, and strengthen regional regulation.
Embracing regional manufacturing also has the potential to support another priority under Brazil’s G20 presidency: the adoption of climate-resilient value chains. As an organization focused on access to optimized health products for LMICs, Unitaid already works with a wide range of partners who develop, manufacture, procure, and promote the use of key health products, and has a strategy in place to advance “climate-smart” healthcare solutions that are more resilient to climate change and involve green manufacturing and distribution models.
Supporting equitable access and boosting innovation targeting patients’ needs is also key when addressing antimicrobial resistance. Resistance to critical medicines and insecticides threatens to stall – or reverse – progress in the fight against infectious disease. Unitaid welcomes the reinforced efforts under this presidency to advance the pipeline of tools to improve the AMR fight, given the widening gaps in innovation, market entry, country adoption, and adequate use of new regimens for antimicrobial resistance. Through a diverse portfolio, Unitaid addresses current market failures by supporting access to adapted therapeutics and diagnostics to prevent, monitor, and contain resistance. This includes better formulations and new-drug delivery technologies that can help promote adherence and protect existing therapeutics for infectious diseases.
Finally, and in line with Brazil’s emphasis on digital health, Unitaid actively supports optimizing the integration of digital technologies in healthcare. Our projects leverage digital technology like smart pillboxes, video-supported treatments, and medication labels to support adherence and referral to care in tuberculosis, using artificial intelligence for diagnostics in tuberculosis or cervical cancer, and digital innovations in maternal and child health. These efforts are essential in enhancing data integration within national health systems and expanding telehealth services in low- and middle-income countries.
Unitaid’s alignment with Brazil’s G20 health priorities underscores our shared commitment to enhancing global health security and equity. Our efforts to support equitable innovation, facilitate regional production capabilities, integrate climate-resilient solutions, expand digital health innovations, and prevent antimicrobial resistance are well-positioned to help G20 countries build a more robust global health system. As we continue to support these initiatives, Unitaid remains dedicated to advancing collaborative solutions that respond to today’s urgent health needs while preparing for tomorrow’s challenges.
Media Contact
Kyle Wilkinson, Media Officer, Unitaid
+41 79 445 1745
Act now for tomorrow: Equitable access to pandemic life-saving health tools is needed
Key points:
- Access considerations must be embedded into every phase of the pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPPR) roadmap.
- The development of lifesaving products must be guided by public health needs to ensure tools are relevant, effective and accessible.
- Access strategies require transparency and flexibility, acknowledging the unpredictability and wide-ranging impact of pandemics.
- To achieve access for all during pandemics, it is imperative to proactively expand and connect regional clinical trial networks and manufacturing capabilities.
Geneva – As deliberations are taking place on the path forward for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR), Unitaid calls for integrating equitable access into every facet of pandemic innovation. Access is not an afterthought; it is a critical aspect that must be integrated from the very beginning of the research and development value chain to the adoption of required tools. This requires a collective and coordinated effort to ensure that all medical countermeasures (vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics, including medical oxygen) are accessible to those in need, precisely when they are most needed.
In collaboration with our partners, Unitaid has identified actionable steps that can facilitate this process, as outlined in our presentation “Access is not an afterthought: Equitable access to therapeutics during pandemics” and the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat’s report “100 Days Mission Therapeutics Roadmap”, to which Unitaid contributed.
Access to a lifesaving product requires that a product is developed in the first place. Strong support for a funded and efficient R&D pipeline is required now for the pre-development of products that can meet public health requirements and swiftly adapt to new pandemic pathogens as they emerge. The pharmaceutical industry, together with the public sector, academia and others, will continue to play a pivotal role in this ecosystem. Active commitment from industry on broad and equitable access that can address public health needs, including on research, pricing and expanded production is required.
“To effectively combat future pandemics, a concerted R&D effort from both the public and private sectors is crucial, particularly in areas like antiviral medicines which lagged during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid. “It is imperative to embed access provisions throughout the development process to ensure that everyone, especially the most vulnerable, has access to essential tools for prevention, diagnosis and care.”
Access considerations must be transparent and target broad access, especially in the context of pandemics, where uncertainties abound. The goal of universal access in times of pandemics, including for low- and middle-income countries, hinges on access policies governed by public health needs and disease burden. This cannot be predetermined and requires flexibility and adaptability in response strategies.
Preparedness efforts must also focus on expanding capabilities in low- and middle-income countries. Supporting effective and connected clinical trial platforms now will enable the rapid evaluation of pre-developed candidates in the event of a pandemic, including in combinations as relevant. Moreover, ethical guidelines for post-trial access must be adhered to, ensuring that communities participating in trials have continued access to interventions. Sustainable and viable production in various regions, enabled by IP-sharing and technology transfer initiatives, should be supported to address the needs in all disease areas, while also remaining agile to pivot to surge demand for priority pandemic products as the need arises.
At Unitaid, we save lives by making new health products available and affordable for people in low- and middle-income countries. We identify innovative treatments and tools, help tackle the barriers that are holding them back, and deliver them to the people who need them most – fast. As we move beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, we aim to establish and fund a sustainable road map for rapid and efficient responses to pandemics, ensuring that everyone, everywhere, has equal access to the lifesaving health tools they need.
Media contact:
For more information and media requests:
Hervé Verhoosel
Head of Communications and Spokesperson
M: +33 6 22 59 73 54
Japan commits US$7.3 million to Unitaid to strengthen access to lifesaving medical oxygen in Kenya and Tanzania
Key points
- The new funding supports Unitaid’s broader strategic objective to expand access, lower prices and increase supply of medical oxygen in countries across Africa
- Sustainable oxygen systems are a building block for health system strengthening, universal health coverage and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response
- Liquid medical oxygen is more stable, easier to handle and 20% less expensive on a per-unit basis than oxygen produced through other systems like pressure swing adsorption plants
Unitaid welcomes Japan’s announcement to provide US$7.3 million to expand access to reliable, sustainable supplies of medical oxygen in Kenya and Tanzania. The new funding supports Unitaid’s broader strategic objective to expand access, lower prices and increase supply of medical oxygen in countries across Africa.
“The lack of medical oxygen during the COVID-19 pandemic was a brutal wake-up call to the world. Health facilities without sustainable supplies of medical oxygen were unable to treat their patients, leading to countless preventable deaths,” said Dr. Philippe Duneton, Unitaid’s Executive Director. “But medical oxygen is needed beyond pandemics. For children with pneumonia, mothers in childbirth and newborns in respiratory distress, access to medical oxygen is the difference between life and death. Japan is an important partner in supporting countries to achieve universal health coverage. Building sustainable, reliable access to medical oxygen for all patients who need it is a key component of a strong health system.”
Medical oxygen is a lifesaving medicine with no substitute. It is essential for surgery, emergency and critical care, and for treating severe respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19 and pneumonia. Medical oxygen is also critical for treating pregnant women with complications, newborns in respiratory distress and people with severe malaria, advanced HIV disease and tuberculosis (TB), among other critical health issues. For example, strengthening oxygen systems worldwide could cut hospital-based pneumonia deaths among children by half and overall hospital deaths of children under 5 by a quarter.
As the G7 Presidency in 2023, Japan emphasized the importance of achieving more resilient, equitable and sustainable universal health coverage to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and to achieve the targets in Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good health and well-being. Ensuring equitable, sustainable, affordable and timely access to medical oxygen is critical to all these objectives.
“Access to medical oxygen is a critical component of a strong health system, and helps countries achieve universal health coverage,” said Ambassador AKAHORI Takeshi, Assistant Minister and Director-General for Global Issues of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. “This new funding will support Kenya and Tanzania improve patient care today and be prepared to respond to future crises, saving lives.”
The new project will focus on liquid oxygen, a form of medical oxygen that shows the most significant potential in improving long-term, sustainable, and affordable access to oxygen in low-resource settings. Stored in large tanks at medical facilities, liquid oxygen is more stable, easier to handle and 20% less expensive on a per-unit basis than oxygen produced through other systems like pressure swing adsorption plants. It also doesn’t require electricity to produce, which is a critical element in countries where electrical grids face interruptions in electrical supply.
Unitaid is a global leader in building sustainable, reliable and affordable access to medical oxygen and oxygen equipment in low- and middle-income countries. Increasing access to oxygen is more than simply increasing supply; through Unitaid’s market-shaping approach, we work with partners to introduce innovations such as better quality, more affordable oxygen delivery systems; strengthen health security by building regional oxygen production capabilities; create healthy competitive markets by negotiating lower prices with existing suppliers; facilitate skills transfer and training for emerging suppliers to meet quality standards and further lowering prices and creating more competitive markets; and to support governments and health facilities to determine the most appropriate oxygen system for their needs.
To take our approach to scale, in 2023 we co-founded the Global Oxygen Alliance (GO2AL), a partnership that includes more than 20 health partners and representatives from civil society and affected communities, co-chaired by Unitaid and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. GO2AL aims to convert the investments made during the COVID-19 pandemic into lives saved, including financing to expand production, lowering the price of oxygen and providing technical support to governments, ensuring sustainable oxygen systems are a building block for health system strengthening, universal health coverage and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
Media contact:
For more information and media requests:
Hervé Verhoosel
Head of Communications and Spokesperson
M: +33 6 22 59 73 54
About Unitaid
We save lives by making critical health products available and affordable for people in low- and middle-income countries. We work with partners to identify innovative treatments, tests and tools, help tackle the market barriers that are holding them back, and get them to the people who need them most – fast. Since we were created in 2006, we have unlocked access to more than 100 groundbreaking health products to help address the world’s biggest health challenges, including HIV, TB, and malaria; women’s and children’s health; and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Every year, more than 300 million people benefit from the products we’ve helped roll out.
Need to improve oxygen access has not ended with the pandemic
Better supplies could prevent countless deaths from common illnesses
by P. Duneton, T. Akahori and P. Amoth – February 2, 2024
Nikkei Asia
Philippe Duneton is executive director of global health organization Unitaid. Takeshi Akahori is ambassador and assistant minister for global issues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Patrick Amoth is the acting director general for health of Kenya.
Without oxygen, we die. This may seem obvious, but in many health facilities around the world, access to lifesaving medical oxygen is often unavailable and underfunded.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic put oxygen in the headlines, severe shortages of medical oxygen had been a problem for decades. Fewer than half of health facilities in low- and middle-income countries had uninterrupted access. Of the 7.2 million children who typically had a critical need for medical oxygen each year to treat pneumonia in low- and middle-income countries, only one in five received it.
COVID-19 made these problems much worse. Within a matter of weeks, the number of people needing medical oxygen to live increased tenfold. Many hospitals ran out of supplies, leading to countless preventable deaths.
While it is unknown how many of the 25 million deaths as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic were due to a lack of oxygen, studies have shown that hypoxemia, or low levels of oxygen in the blood, was a major cause of death from COVID-19 in low-resource settings.
The need for medical oxygen suddenly became painfully clear, and the world scrambled to respond.
Health institutions, co-led by global health organization Unitaid, launched the Oxygen Emergency Taskforce as part of a groundbreaking collaboration with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostics.