La République de Corée réaffirme son soutien à Unitaid pour assurer un accès équitable aux outils de santé

Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid and Marisol Touraine, Chair of Unitaid’s Executive Board with Mr. Park Yong Min, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs (left) and Mr. Won Do-Yeon, Director-General of the Cooperation Bureau and Unitaid Board Member (right).

 

Geneva – Unitaid welcomes the contribution of US$5 million from the Republic of Korea to support the implementation of its new strategy.

The Republic of Korea has supported Unitaid’s essential role in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and, more recently, COVID-19 as a key donor and member of the Executive Board since 2007.

This latest commitment of funding builds on an US$80 million total contribution from the Republic of Korea since Unitaid’s inception, including support to Unitaid’s COVID-19 response work as part of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A).

“The Republic of Korea strongly appreciates Unitaid’s work in ensuring access to health innovations and will continue to strengthen its cooperation with Unitaid,” said Mr. Park Yong Min, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs.

Unitaid is grateful for the Republic of Korea’s longstanding support and renewed financial contribution. We value the Republic of Korea’s leadership in global health driven by the Korean biotechnology companies’ excellent R&D and manufacturing capacity,” said Marisol Touraine, Chair of Unitaid’s Executive Board.

The funding commitment was announced on the sidelines of the World Bio Summit, co-hosted by the Republic of Korea and the World Health Organization.

For media requests:

Maggie Zander

Communications officer

M: +41 79 593 17 74

zanderm@unitaid.who.int

Le Canada s’engage à verser 25 millions de dollars canadiens à Unitaid pour élargir l’accès durable à l’oxygène à usage médical

Genève et New York – Unitaid se félicite de la contribution canadienne de 25 millions de dollars canadiens pour soutenir le travail de l’organisation visant à améliorer l’accès à l’oxygène médicinal dans les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire, dans le but de soutenir la réponse à la COVID-19 et aux futures urgences en santé.

Le Premier ministre Justin Trudeau a annoncé ce nouveau financement en marge de la septième session de reconstitution des ressources du Fonds mondial, lors de l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies à New York.

L’importante contribution du Canada vise à soutenir les efforts du Groupe de travail sur l’oxygène pour accroître davantage l’accès à l’oxygène liquide, réduire les coûts du gaz et des équipements, renforcer les infrastructures, élargir la capacité technique et assurer une utilisation sécuritaire de l’oxygène médicinal dans les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire.

Ce financement contribuera à élargir l’accès durable à des solutions d’oxygène adéquates et abordables, et aidera les pays à élaborer des feuilles de route nationales stratégiques en matière d’oxygène et à se préparer aux menaces futures pour la santé.

Avec cette aide supplémentaire, le Canada a fourni 60 millions de dollars canadiens à Unitaid visant à soutenir un accès équitable aux traitements pour la COVID-19, y compris l’oxygène à usage médical, par le biais de l’Accélérateur ACT.

Dr Philippe Duneton, directeur exécutif d’Unitaid, a déclaré : “Personne ne devrait mourir à cause d’un manque d’oxygène. Je suis très reconnaissant au Canada pour cette importante contribution au travail qu’Unitaid mène avec ses partenaires pour remédier aux inégalités mondiales dans l’accès à ce médicament essentiel. Ce nouveau financement permettra de sauver des vies dès maintenant et de préparer le monde aux futures urgences sanitaires.”

Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau and Dr. Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid

Premier ministre du Canada, Justin Trudeau avec Dr Philippe Duneton, directeur exécutif d’Unitaid

L’oxygène est un médicament essentiel utilisé pour traiter de nombreuses affections touchant les nouveau-nés, les enfants et les adultes. C’est un traitement vital pour les cas graves de COVID-19. On estime que 75 % des personnes hospitalisées peuvent survivre grâce à l’oxygénothérapie seule.

Investir dans l’oxygène maintenant permettra de sauver des vies bien au-delà de la pandémie en renforçant les systèmes de santé et en réduisant de manière significative les décès chez les nouveau-nés, les enfants et les femmes en couches. L’oxygène restera un outil essentiel pour répondre aux futures urgences sanitaires.

Unitaid travaille sur l’accès à l’oxygène à usage médical depuis 2019 par le biais d’un portefeuille diversifié d’investissements, notamment en pilotant l’oxymétrie de pouls et la gestion de la fièvre au niveau des soins de santé primaire pour identifier et orienter les enfants gravement malades vers les hôpitaux, en faisant progresser les stratégies améliorées de ventilation non invasive pour les nouveau-nés et les technologies de concentrateurs d’oxygène médicinal.

Unitaid préside le Groupe de travail d’urgence sur l’oxygène créé en février 2021 pour piloter l’effort multilatéral de soutien à l’accès à l’oxygène et codirige le pilier thérapeutique de l’Accélérateur ACT avec le Fonds mondial et Wellcome.

Pour plus d’information :

Sarah Mascheroni

mascheronisa@unitaid.who.int

Pour toutes demandes médias :

Maggie Zander

Chargée de communication

M: +41 79 593 17 74

zanderm@unitaid.who.int

Les oxymètres de pouls de nouvelle génération pourraient largement réduire la mortalité maternelle et infantile, d’après un rapport de PATH et Unitaid

A technology and market landscape report by PATH and Unitaid

To date, maternal and child mortality rates remain unacceptably high. In 2020, still over 5 million children under 5 years of age died, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, and mostly from conditions that are preventable or treatable, such as pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and preterm birth complications.

To reach maternal and child global health targets by 2030[1], equitable access to innovative devices that have the potential to support health care workers in low-resource settings as they make decisions and provide fit-for-purpose treatment solutions, is urgently needed.

Pulse oximeters (POs) are noninvasive devices that measure blood oxygen saturation and pulse rate. They are used to help health care workers detect hypoxemia – a low level of oxygen in the blood – and to know how much oxygen to administer to patients. Detecting hypoxemia can allow timely treatment with oxygen therapy and save hundreds of thousands of lives each year.

The PATH-Unitaid technology and market landscape report, launched today, reviews the nascent global market for the next generation of pulse oximetry – multimodal POs.

These devices expand the features of standard POs by collecting additional clinical measurements, such as respiratory rate, temperature, and/or haemoglobin integrated into a single device that is appropriate for use in low-resource settings. These promising products can provide objective measurements to caregivers, via the same device and at the same time, to support clinical decision-making and ultimately save lives.

The report analyzes existing and emerging products and aims to assess their potential to improve screening for various illnesses that affect maternal and child health in low- and middle-income countries.

The report also examines market and technological challenges that hamper the adoption, scale-up and wide access in low-resource settings to these potentially lifesaving tools and maps out opportunities to overcome barriers limiting equitable access, including issues related to quality, availability, affordability, demand and supply.

Multimodal POs that are affordable, high-quality, and appropriately designed have the potential to achieve meaningful impact.

In addition to reducing mortality, multimodal POs could further optimize efficient use of resources and reduce the overall strain on health systems by minimizing the need for costly testing, strengthening referral decisions, and reducing unnecessary hospitalizations, intensive therapy, and overuse of antibiotic treatments.

In its work to address fever management and promote the adoption and scale-up of POs in primary health care, Unitaid has a portfolio of two complimentary grants for this purpose. Namely, Améliorer l’Identification des Détresses Respiratoire chez l’Enfant (AIRE) led by the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) and Tools for Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (TIMCI), led by PATH.

As part of the broader TIMCI project, PATH is currently initiating an evaluation and operational research study to assess performance and feasibility of using these tools by primary health care providers in Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uttar Pradesh, India.

Over the past four years, Unitaid and PATH have worked together to expand access to high-quality POs and clinical decision support algorithms to enable primary health care workers to better identify severely ill children and refer them for appropriate treatment without delay. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the need for reliable access to such devices as part of sustainable and equitable oxygen delivery system even more to light.

  • Access the Next Generation Pulse Oximeters Technology and Market Landscape here

[1] Sustainable Development Goal 3: Target 3.1, By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births. Target 3.2, By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under‑5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births.

Related projects and publications:

For more information:

Sarah Mascheroni

mascheronisa@unitaid.who.int

For media requests:

Maggie Zander

Communications officer

M: +41 79 593 17 74

zanderm@unitaid.who.int

Next generation pulse oximeters technology and market landscape

Unitaid et le gouvernement du Kenya renforcent leur partenariat pour faire avancer les objectifs de santé mondiale

Nairobi/Geneva – Global health agency Unitaid and the Government of Kenya are launching a newly reinforced cooperation, with a memorandum of understanding between the two parties signed in Nairobi.

Over its decade and a half history, Unitaid has worked closely with Kenyan partners to enable affordable, equitable, and rapid access to game-changing health innovations for those who need them. These include early infant HIV diagnostics, best-in-class antiretroviral drugs for adults and children with HIV, child-friendly tuberculosis (TB) medicines, cutting-edge screen-and-treat solutions for cervical cancer, indoor sprays to curb malaria, and access to COVID-19 tests and medical oxygen, among many others.

The agreement will further improve alignment between Unitaid investments and Kenyan health priorities, enable early access to innovations, and strengthen capacity of Kenyan health services, systems, research institutions and manufacturers.

“Unitaid’s collaboration with Kenya dates from its very beginnings 15 years ago. Nearly 80% of Unitaid’s US$1.5 billion currently invested supports work on the African continent. Kenya is a close partner in these efforts – both as one of the countries where the greatest number of Unitaid projects are running, and as one of the quickest countries to adopt and scale up critical health innovations,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid. “This partnership will further advance our shared goals to improve health in Kenya and beyond.”

“Advances in health innovations hold game-changing potential when implemented widely and equitably, but ensuring products reach the last mile is far from guaranteed. This is why our partnership with Unitaid is so valuable: together we will design the most impactful solutions so no one is left behind,” “said Sen. Mutahi Kagwe, Cabinet Secretary for Health of the Republic of Kenya.

Joint efforts will focus on advancing sustainable approaches to reduce the burdens of HIV, TB, malaria, cervical cancer, hepatitis and COVID-19, improve the health of women and children, increase regional and domestic manufacturing of essential health products and strengthen pandemic preparedness and response efforts.

Media contact:

For more information and media requests:

Maggie Zander

Communications officer

M: +41 79 593 17 74

zanderm@unitaid.who.int

Invitation to local manufacturers of liquid oxygen to submit an expression of interest (“EOI”) for financial and technical support to improve access and affordability of liquid and medical oxygen in Sub-Saharan African countries.

Call for Expression of Interest (CEI)

The purpose of this CEI is to identify opportunities to support local suppliers interested in increasing availability and affordability of medical oxygen for public procurers.

Closing Date: 5pm (GMT), 30 July 2022

Webinar on this EOI

Please join Unitaid and MedAccess for a webinar providing potential applicants with more information on the EOI.

Date: 20 July 2022 at 12pm CEST

Join via Zoom: https://unitaid.zoom.us/j/84130020292

Unitaid marque la Journée mondiale de la pneumonie et appelle tous les partenaires à augmenter le financement de la réponse à la crise de l’oxygène

Geneva – On World Pneumonia Day, Unitaid calls on all partners to dramatically increase funding for the oxygen response and joins Every Breath Counts Coalition in urging high-burden country governments to take action to reduce air pollution-related pneumonia deaths.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, pneumonia was the world’s biggest infectious killer of adults and children with 2.5 million reported deaths in 2019. Almost a third of all pneumonia deaths were due to polluted air in 2019. This curable and preventable infectious disease remains the deadliest for children under five, claiming 670,000 lives each year; most deaths occurring among children under the age of one.

Coupled with antibiotics, medical oxygen could save the lives of many children who develop severe pneumonia. Access to medical oxygen commodities is therefore a vital component in the fight against pneumonia. Now, with the COVID-19 health crisis, the challenges around provision in low- and middle-income (LMICs) countries have never been greater.

Robert Matiru, Director of Programmes at Unitaid, warns that without increased efforts to address pneumonia and inequities in access to lifesaving tools, most low- and middle-income countries will not meet the related sustainable development goal targets set by the United Nations for 2030. The target for child mortality aims to end, by 2030, preventable deaths of new-borns and children under 5 years of age.

“We need more political commitment; we need additional investments for health products such as pulse oximeters for checking blood-oxygen level to detect severe disease as well as oxygen itself to save lives,” said Robert Matiru. “And lastly, we need more coordinated efforts among all partners at global, regional and country level.”

Since 2019, Unitaid and its partners have helped strengthen access to pulse oximeters adapted for children in primary health care facilities in LMICs. These efforts aim to address poor availability of pulse oximeters, improve the identification of hypoxaemia, and the onwards referral of severely sick children. Once hypoxaemia is identified, it is crucial that oxygen therapy is initiated as quickly as possible, but access to safe, affordable oxygen in LMICs remains low.

With the World Health Organization and Wellcome, Unitaid is leading global efforts to address barriers to oxygen access such as high pricing or lack of medical oxygen capacity. Together with multiple partners, we are working to assess and develop solutions adapted to the needs of countries such as pressure swing absorption plants, bulk liquid oxygen, as well as portable oxygen concentrators.

In addition to meet the immediate needs of the COVID-19 pandemic, this collaborative endeavour aims to leverage gains in access to medical oxygen commodities in order to help with long-term pneumonia control.

Media contact:

Sarah Mascheroni

Communications officer

Email: mascheronisa@who.int

Mobile: +41 79 728 73 11

Une coopération inédite avec des fournisseurs d’oxygène mondiaux ouvre la voie à l’élargissement de l’accès des pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire aux outils de lutte contre la crise de la COVID-19

  • Agreement brokered by Unitaid and CHAI under the COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce sees two of the world’s largest medical oxygen suppliers each collaborate with these ACT-Accelerator partners on increased access in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
  • Two memoranda of understanding, one with Air Liquide and another with Linde, pave the way for increased oxygen supply in the context of COVID-19
  • Latest estimates show that around 1 million COVID-19 patients in LMICs need 2.2 million cylinders of oxygen per day

Geneva, 15 June 2021 – Unitaid and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) are pleased to announce agreements[1] with Air Liquide and Linde respectively, which provide a pathway to increase access to medical oxygen in low- and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medical oxygen shortages around the world have been a tragic feature of the pandemic, impacting the poorest countries disproportionately. These access difficulties were entrenched in many parts of the world before COVID-19, and have been exacerbated by the pandemic, putting strain on fragile health systems and resulting in preventable deaths. Latest estimates[2] suggest that around 1 million critically-ill COVID-19 patients in low- and middle-income countries need 2.2 million oxygen cylinders (15.1 million cubic metres) a day at the moment, with concerning surges reported in several countries in Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia.

The agreements come following intense engagement with the world’s major oxygen suppliers by the COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce. This group of partners[3], led by Unitaid and Wellcome under the ACT-Accelerator Therapeutics pillar, has been working together over the past four months to address the global oxygen crisis, building on the strong track record of the agencies involved. This unprecedented collaboration with industry aims to overcome fundamental issues such as unstable funding commitments and insufficient infrastructure, which have limited the availability of medical oxygen.

Under the two memoranda of understanding signed with Air Liquide and Linde, each company has committed to work with ACT-A global health partners to facilitate equitable access to oxygen in a number of priority countries, to meet the emergency needs of the COVID-19 pandemic. The collaboration with each supplier also aims to build a framework for local contractual agreements – in line with standard public procurement practices – which could form the basis of longer-term purchasing deals by governments and global agencies that fund access to medical oxygen, to avoid a shortage of supply as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carl Bildt, WHO Special Envoy for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) and former Prime Minister of Sweden said: “Without a much improved supply of oxygen we will see the global numbers of people dying from COVID rising even faster. That’s why an improved public-private partnership is so necessary, and the role of industry is absolutely essential. I know from experience that it is a powerful combination when governments, multilaterals, and the private sector work together to solve massive issues. These pioneering oxygen agreements are urgently needed to save lives.”

Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid, said: “We welcome the engagement from Air Liquide and Linde. This is the first time such an agreement has been made to help facilitate equitable access to oxygen, an essential, lifesaving medicine. We hope that other oxygen suppliers will now follow suit and come to the table. There is a real opportunity to change the course of history – both for the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other areas where medical oxygen is so vital but has been often lacking, including pneumonia control, treating women who develop complications in childbirth and trauma patients.”

Under this initiative, Unitaid and CHAI, together with the Oxygen Emergency Taskforce partners, will seek to mobilise resources to fund medical oxygen storage and infrastructure, pay for emergency supplies, and finance the transportation of equipment and other tools needed for safe, resilient medical oxygen systems. Market interventions including advance purchase commitments and guarantees could form part of this package of measures. An estimated $400 million is needed immediately to enable this vital work to take place.

The Taskforce is also working to address supply shortages for other vital commodities, including oxygen concentrators and pressure swing absorption (PSA) plants, and connect countries to sources of financing for oxygen requests, including the Global Fund’s C-19 RM mechanism and the World Bank’s COVID-19 emergency health response.

Zachary Katz, Vice President of Essential Medicines at CHAI, said: “These agreements pave the way for wider use of medical oxygen at a time when the world continues to suffer acute shortages. We applaud Air Liquide and Linde and look forward to working together to expand access to oxygen to those most in need.”

Jean-Marc de Royere, Senior Vice President and member of the Air Liquide Group Executive Committee in charge of social programs, said: “Striving to improve oxygen access in LMICs is an integral part of our sustainable development commitments announced in March 2021. Today’s announcement is also in line with Air Liquide teams’ mobilisation since the beginning of the pandemic in the countries where the Group operates. Leveraging on its technical expertise and know-how, the Group will work along with Unitaid and CHAI, contributing to solutions to increase oxygen access in LMICs countries where demand is high and operational conditions are challenging.”

Sanjiv Lamba, Chief Operating Officer at Linde, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of access to healthcare for all. Linde’s employees stepped up in these extraordinary times to produce and deliver medical oxygen, playing a critical role in supporting healthcare systems across the world. All these efforts will be in vain if we cannot work together to improve access to medical oxygen in low and moderate income countries, overcoming the many challenges. Linde is proud to partner with Unitaid and the Clinton Health Access Initiative and we look forward to working together to increase access to oxygen on a fair and equitable basis.”

[1] These agreements, in the form of non-binding Memoranda of Understanding, have been entered into on a non-exclusive basis. Agreements with other medical oxygen suppliers are being pursued.

[2] https://www.path.org/programs/market-dynamics/covid-19-oxygen-needs-tracker/

[3] Partner organisations include Unitaid, Wellcome, WHO (and the biomedical consortium it coordinates), Unicef, The Global Fund, the World Bank, UNOPS, the Every Breath Counts coalition, CHAI, PATH, Save the Children, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Access to Medicine Foundation.

Background notes
Even before COVID-19, pneumonia was the world’s biggest infectious killer of adults and children, claiming the lives of 2.5 million people in 2019. The pandemic has exacerbated this problem, particularly in ‘double-burden’ countries which are contending with high levels of pneumonia and COVID-19. As well as meeting the immediate needs of the pandemic, the COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce would look to leverage gains in this area to help with long-term pneumonia control.

About the COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce
The COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce was launched in February 2021 to bring together key partners already working to address critical oxygen gaps, as part of a coordinated COVID-19 response. The taskforce is co-led by Unitaid and Wellcome, under the Therapeutics Pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. Partner organisations include Unitaid, Wellcome, the World Health Organization (and the biomedical consortium it coordinates), UNICEF, The Global Fund, the World Bank, UNOPS, the Every Breath Counts coalition, CHAI, PATH, Save the Children, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Access to Medicine Foundation.

About Unitaid
Unitaid is a global health agency engaged in finding innovative solutions to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases more quickly, cheaply, and effectively, in low- and middle-income countries. Its work includes funding initiatives to address major diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as HIV co-infections and co-morbidities such as cervical cancer and hepatitis C, and cross-cutting areas, such as fever management. Unitaid is now applying its expertise to address challenges in advancing new therapies and diagnostics for the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as a key member of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. Unitaid is hosted by the World Health Organization.

About CHAI
The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organisation committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries. CHAI works with its partners to help strengthen the capabilities of governments and local private sectors to create and sustain high-quality health systems. For more information, please visit: clintonhealthaccess.org.

Media contacts
Hervé Verhoosel, Unitaid, Geneva | verhooselh@unitaid.who.int | tel. +44 77 29 618 634

Maggie Zander, Unitaid, Geneva | zanderm@unitaid.who.int | tel. +41 79 593 17 74

Regan Lachapelle, CHAI, Boston | rlachapelle@clintonhealthaccess.org | tel. +1 857-208-2788