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

Unitaid Strategy 2023-2027

À l’occasion de la Journée mondiale de lutte contre la tuberculose, Unitaid appelle à redoubler d’efforts pour mettre fin à la tuberculose et renforcer les réponses sanitaires mondiales

Genève – À l’occasion de la Journée mondiale de lutte contre la tuberculose, le 24 mars, Unitaid réaffirme son engagement à apporter des approches innovantes dans la lutte contre la tuberculose.

La pandémie de COVID-19 a eu un effet dévastateur sur les programmes de santé dans le monde, mais les efforts dans la lutte contre la tuberculose (TB) ont été affectés de manière disproportionnée. Les interruptions et les retards dans les services de soins essentiels ont entraîné une augmentation des décès dus à la tuberculose pour la première fois depuis plus de dix ans.

“Dans un monde qui évolue rapidement, la nécessité de relever de nouveaux défis avec des outils et des stratégies actualisés est plus importante que jamais”, a déclaré le Dr Philippe Duneton, directeur exécutif d’Unitaid. “La bactérie de la tuberculose a été identifiée il y a 140 ans. Pourtant, elle continue de causer 1,5 million de morts chaque année, et des millions de personnes dans le monde n’ont toujours pas accès aux meilleurs outils, traitements et prévention.”

“La pandémie de COVID-19 met tout cela en lumière. Depuis qu’elle a débuté il y a un peu plus de deux ans, nous avons mis au point et déployé des tests rapides à domicile, plusieurs vaccins puissants, de multiples traitements qui évitent les maladies graves et mobilisé des milliards de dollars de financement. Et même s’il reste beaucoup à faire, nous avons bon espoir de commencer à franchir un cap.”

“Les percées réalisées dans le domaine de la tuberculose au cours des dix dernières années ont permis de réaliser des progrès considérables. Trois nouveaux médicaments – les premiers en un demi-siècle – et les toutes premières formulations adaptées aux enfants pour la tuberculose ont permis de raccourcir la durée des traitements, de les rendre plus efficaces et moins toxiques. Et grâce à des outils de diagnostic plus rapides et plus précis et à des thérapies préventives améliorées, davantage de personnes peuvent accéder à des soins qui, auparavant, étaient souvent trop compliqués, trop longs ou trop coûteux.”

“Mais les programmes de lutte contre la tuberculose dans le monde sont aujourd’hui confrontés à de graves revers. Même avant la fermeture des services à cause de la pandémie de COVID-19, 30 % de toutes les personnes atteintes de tuberculose n’étaient pas diagnostiquées, et n’avaient donc pas accès au traitement. Et d’autres personnes à haut risque d’infection, notamment les jeunes enfants, les femmes enceintes et les contacts familiaux, n’ont pas pu bénéficier d’un traitement préventif essentiel.”

“Nos investissements passés dans la lutte contre la tuberculose nous ont préparés à répondre à la COVID-19. Lorsque les premiers cas sont apparus, nos experts en tuberculose ont été appelés en première ligne de défense, tirant parti de leur expertise en matière de contrôle des maladies infectieuses transmises par voie aérienne pour élaborer des stratégies de confinement efficaces.”

“Aujourd’hui, nos investissements futurs doivent soutenir les efforts visant à éradiquer la tuberculose. Les engagements pris aujourd’hui ne vont pas seulement galvaniser la lutte pour vaincre une maladie curable et évitable, mais ils formeront l’épine dorsale des réponses vitales en matière de santé mondiale pour protéger les gens partout dans le monde de ce qui va suivre.”

Contact pour les médias:

Pour plus d’informations ou pour des demandes des médias, veuillez contacter :

Maggie Zander

Communications officer

M: +41 79 593 17 74

zanderm@unitaid.who.int

UnitaidExplore accorde un financement à des innovations en matière d’administration de médicaments destinés aux enfants

  • Two new awards announced under Unitaid’s agility mechanism, UnitaidExplore; DelSiTech and FluidPharma will each receive investment for innovations to make medicines easier to give to children 
  • Latest call comes in context of Unitaid’s ground-breaking work on paediatric formulations to treat HIV, TB and malaria  
  • Children in low- and middle-income countries have lower treatment coverage and worse health outcomes than adults – a lack of paediatric formulations is a major contributing factor. 

Geneva, 4 October 2021 – Two companies developing potentially game-changing medicine delivery mechanisms for children are the latest recipients of UnitaidExplore funding. 

Finnish company DelSiTech and British enterprise FluidPharma have each been awarded funding following the latest call for applications under Unitaid’s pioneering agility mechanism.  

Children in low- and middle-income countries have lower treatment coverage and worse health outcomes than adults. A major barrier is a lack of medication that is specifically formulated for their needs. Often medicine is too bitter, difficult to swallow or not correctly dosed, making it hard for children to stay on treatment for diseases such as HIV, malaria and TB.  

The latest UnitaidExplore call specifically targeted this issue, inviting applicants to apply for funding to push forward innovation in this field. It builds on Unitaid’s significant work in the field of paediatric formulations for HIV, TB and malaria treatments, and its key role in WHO’s GAP-f network.

FluidPharma will use UnitaidExplore funding to take forward development of their MicroCoat™ technology, which utilises tiny cellulose spheres with taste-masking properties to deliver medication in a formulation that is more palatable to children. It is hoped that this technology could be used across a range of disease areas, with initial development of an artesunate/amodiaquine malaria combination therapy. 

DelSiTech’s work focuses on the development of long-acting injectables to deliver medicines to children, reducing the burden of tablets and the associated stigma with taking such medication. The technology involves the use of thin, minimally invasive needles to deliver a unique silica-based formulation via sub-cutaneous injection. The technology can be used to administer drugs that treat or prevent a wide range of conditions, while significantly extending the effective duration of the treatment from a single dose. 

Unitaid Director of Strategy Janet Ginnard said: “Innovations in medicine delivery that are specifically aimed at children are of utmost importance and we are pleased to announce this funding to DelSiTech and FluidPharma. These investments fit firmly with Unitaid’s track record in facilitating access to the best medicines for the most vulnerable people. These innovations will help ensure that children can benefit from lifesaving treatment and have the best possible health outcomes.” 

The investments from Unitaid will accelerate both companies’ paediatric delivery mechanisms, covering pre-clinical work for several different potential applications. 

Professor John Reeder from WHO’s GAP-f network said: “Unitaid’s new investments in innovative delivery approaches for children are extremely welcome, as they spark new energy and collaborations to ensure that science and innovation are at the service of those who have been too often left behind, our children.” 

Dr. Lasse Leino, Chief Executive Officer from DelSiTech said: “Alliances, such as with Unitaid, are essential to us and to healthcare organisations around the world for the realisation of our common goal, securing real advancements in global health. DelSiTech is committed to pursuing long lasting strategic partnerships, enabling us to play a role in improving treatment outcomes, now for clearly underserved children. We are thrilled to collaborate with Unitaid and are prepared to leverage the full extent of our technologies and expertise for paediatric solutions for patients, wherever they may be”. 

Dr Fang Liu from Fluid Pharma said: “We are really excited for this opportunity to join Unitaid’s excellent work in making medicines suitable for children. Applying the MicroCoatTM technology, we will develop paediatric anti-malarial treatments that are palatable, easy to swallow and stable, to improve compliance and treatment outcomes for children.” 

This announcement complements two awards given last year to the first UnitaidExplore recipients, Vayu Global Health and EPFL EssentialTech, to take forward innovations in paediatric oxygen delivery.

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.

Media contacts

For more information and media requests:

 

Hervé Verhoosel

Head of Communications

Unitaid, Geneva

verhooselh@unitaid.who.int

tel. +44 77 29 618 634

 

Maggie Zander

Communication Officer

Unitaid, Geneva

zanderm@unitaid.who.int

tel. +41 79 593 17 74

Les technologies numériques aident les patients à recevoir un traitement à distance, offrant davantage de souplesse dans les soins

Début de la recherche sur de nouveaux outils numériques pour soutenir les patients et les travailleurs de la santé dans le traitement de la tuberculose

The Hague / Geneva, 4 August 2021 – A large global study which aims to determine if digital adherence technologies (DATs) can provide more patient-friendly approaches to improve tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes launches in Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Africa, the Philippines and Ukraine, as part of the ASCENT project.

The digital adherence technologies studied include medication labels and sleeves, smart pill boxes and video supported treatment that allow for remote communication between patients and healthcare centers.

These technologies respond to a key challenge in TB treatment: treatment is long and difficult to complete, lasting anywhere from six months to two years. Because of this, public health strategies have historically relied on Directly Observed Therapy (DOT), in which a clinician observes a patient taking their medicine each day to ensure adherence. These technologies aim to reduce or remove regular in-person visits required under the DOT model and enable healthcare workers to intervene only when necessary.

After COVID-19, TB is the deadliest infectious disease in the world, leading to 1.5 million deaths every year, despite being a curable disease.

The technologies are expected to improve experiences for TB patients and increase treatment completion rates by removing the heavy logistical, financial and time burdens that DOT places on both patients and health systems. Additionally, removing the need for DOT would make TB care significantly more efficient and represent huge savings to public health programmes.

The main research phase, now launched in all countries, evaluates three digital adherence technologies:

  • Smart pillboxes that send a message to the clinic every time the patient opens it up to take their medicine.
  • Medication labels or sleeves that help patients to send a code via SMS  to the clinic every time they take their dose.
  • A video application that helps patients film themselves taking their medicine, and then securely sends the video to the clinic.

 

Wide reaching applications

ASCENT aims to enroll thousands of TB patients by the end of 2022. If proven effective, these tools could have wide-reaching applications to support patients undergoing treatment for any disease which requires them to take medication over an extended period.

“Practical, patient-centered solutions are essential in developing public health strategies that work. Digital adherence technologies are designed to support people in taking their medication while providing information that helps healthcare workers give more tailored care. These innovations, when coupled with advances in treatment and prevention, could modernize and accelerate global efforts against TB,” said Janet Ginnard, Director of Strategy at Unitaid, global health agency and funder of the ASCENT project.

 

Research phase

ASCENT facilitates adoption and uptake of DATs in the five project countries in partnership with the national TB programs. The research component generates evidence for the proper use and scale-up of these innovations. The results are expected to offer guidance to the World Health Organization (WHO) and national TB programs.

“We are trying to effectively evaluate whether health facilities that utilize DATs do better in terms of treatment outcomes than facilities that do not and why. We are also focused on understanding the acceptability of DAT and the social and financial benefits to both the patients and the health facilities,” said Jens Levy, chief researcher of the ASCENT project at the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation.

In the Philippines, Ukraine, Tanzania and South Africa treatment outcomes will be reviewed during the six months of treatment. In Ethiopia the study includes a six-month follow-up beyond treatment to see if there is recurrence of TB. Study protocols are nearly identical in each country, allowing researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of DATs in a variety of healthcare settings and circumstances.

 

TB policy

“For everyone working with these interventions and for those who want to in the future, scientific evidence is crucial. We are honored to lead this research. Contributing to the fight against TB in a patient friendly way”, said Mustapha Gidado, executive director of the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation.

“If it’s shown to be a successful intervention, this could be very beneficial for worldwide TB programmes. It could also change TB treatment policy around the world,” said Katherine Fielding of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who is the co-investigator of the overall project and chief investigator for the Ethiopian study.

The Unitaid-funded and supported ASCENT project is led by the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation (KNCV) in partnership with the Aurum Institute, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and PATH.

About the ASCENT project

The Unitaid-funded ASCENT project aims to help patients succeed in TB treatment using digital adherence technology, towards reducing TB incidence, mortality and financial consequences.

 

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.

Media contacts

For more information and media requests

 

KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation

Laura Goense, Campaign and Media Manager

+31 (0)613 913 577

Laura.goense@kncvtbc.org

 

Unitaid

Hervé Verhoosel, Director, External Relations and Communication a.i.

+44 77 29 618 634

verhooselh@unitaid.who.int

Unitaid réaffirme son engagement à lutter contre la tuberculose dans le contexte de la crise COVID-19

Geneva – On World Tuberculosis Day 2021, Unitaid renews its strong commitment to fight one the world’s deadliest infectious killers.

Ensuring wider access to better, simpler and more affordable solutions to stop the spread of tuberculosis (TB) has always been at the core of Unitaid’s mission. While the world has come together to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now more important than ever to redouble our efforts when it comes to TB.

Every year, about 1.4 million die from TB and 10 million people fall ill with the disease. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified existing access challenges to efficient prevention, diagnosis and care, threatening to reverse the gains made over recent years.

Disruptions in TB services, diversion of resources and substantial reductions in TB detection have been observed. Between 2020 and 2025, an additional 1.4 million TB deaths could be registered as direct consequence of the pandemic.

Urgent action must be taken to provide wider access to life-saving preventive tools, tests and treatments if we want to reach our objective of ending TB by 2030.

“In these exceptional times, innovation has proven to be even more critical than ever to tackle tuberculosis. We need to redouble our efforts across prevention, diagnosis and treatment to ensure that affordable, simpler and adapted solutions are made available in low- and middle-income countries, particularly for the people who need them the most” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Unitaid Executive Director.

Working closely with strategic partners, Unitaid has been at the forefront of investing in cutting-edge innovative solutions. Those include better treatments for children, better regimens to tackle multi-drug resistant TB, more accurate diagnostics to detect cases, shorter, more affordable regimens for TB prevention and digital technologies to help patients stick to their treatments.

Unitaid’s TB portfolio has nearly doubled over the past two years reaching about US$ 250 million. In 2020, the organization was ranked as one of the world’s largest multilateral funder in TB research and development and first for pediatric TB research.

Unitaid’s work in TB:

Media contact: Maggie Zander | +41 79 593 17 74 | zanderm@unitaid.who.int

Unitaid veut investir dans des outils de diagnostic efficaces pour améliorer le dépistage de la tuberculose

Genève – Unitaid a le plaisir d’annoncer le lancement d’un nouvel appel à propositions dans le domaine des nouveaux outils de diagnostics pour la détection de la tuberculose.

Les progrès réalisés dans la lutte contre la tuberculose ne sont pas suffisants pour atteindre les objectifs mondiaux. Le Rapport mondial de l’OMS sur la tuberculose de 2020 montre peu de changement depuis l’année précédente. En 2019, près de 1,4 million de personnes sont décédées de la tuberculose. Sur les 10 millions de personnes estimées atteintes de tuberculose cette année-là, environ 3 millions d’entre elles n’ont pas été diagnostiquées ou n’ont pas été officiellement déclarées aux autorités nationales. La tuberculose continue d’être l’une des principales maladies infectieuses mortelles dans le monde, touchant en particulier les populations les plus vulnérables. Malgré les progrès récents réalisés en matière de traitement et de diagnostic, les outils existants sont inadéquats et/ou sous-utilisés pour combler l’écart dans l’identification des cas restants.

En outre, la pandémie de COVID-19 a commencé à annuler les progrès réalisés à ce jour. Les programmes de lutte contre la tuberculose et les chaînes d’approvisionnement souffrent de perturbations majeures et l’on observe une réduction substantielle du nombre de personnes diagnostiquées et en demande de soins.

Dans ce contexte, il est nécessaire de disposer d’outils de diagnostic rapide capables de tester de nombreux agents pathogènes et d’être mis en œuvre dans les établissements de soins de santé primaires, y compris les dispensaires locaux, les cabinets médicaux, les centres de santé, ou par des agents de santé communautaires lors de visites à domicile.  Les progrès effectués en matière de recherche des contacts et de diagnostic de la COVID-19 offrent des possibilités d’adaptation et de valorisation de ces outils pour la tuberculose.

Sans une intervention conséquente visant à combler le manque de dépistage des cas de tuberculose, la transmission de la tuberculose restera incontrôlable, perpétuant l’épidémie de tuberculose et entraînant une morbidité et une mortalité persistantes.

A travers cet appel à propositions, Unitaid sollicite des projets visant à apporter des solutions de diagnostic innovantes dans la chaîne de soins afin de garantir qu’une personne atteinte de tuberculose reçoive un diagnostic rapide et fiable qui l’oriente vers des soins appropriés, sauvant ainsi des vies et contribuant à atteindre les objectifs mondiaux d’éradication de l’épidémie de tuberculose.

La date limite de réception des propositions complètes est fixée au lundi 24 mai 2021 à 12 h 00 (midi) CET.

A propos des appels à proposition d’Unitaid

Au moyen d’appels à propositions, Unitaid identifie les partenaires les mieux qualifiés pour mettre en œuvre les projets innovants les plus prometteurs. Un comité de revue composé d’experts indépendants en santé mondiale aide à sélectionner les meilleures propositions à travers une procédure compétitive. Ces partenaires reçoivent des subventions de la part d’Unitaid afin d’accélérer l’accès aux médicaments, technologies et systèmes de santé les plus efficaces et d’en réduire leurs coûts. Les investissements d’Unitaid garantissent la viabilité des innovations en matière de santé, permettant ainsi aux organisations partenaires de les rendre accessibles au plus grand nombre.

Contact pour les médias: Maggie Zander | +41 79 593 17 74 | zanderm@unitaid.who.int