By
Donald Zuhn --
Last
month, Bill and Melinda Gates kicked off the new decade by announcing
that their Foundation will be pledging $10 billion over the next ten years to
help research, develop, and deliver vaccines to the world's poorest countries. The announcement came at the World
Economic Forum's annual meeting in January.
Noting
that "[v]accines already save and improve millions of lives in developing
countries," Mr. Gates (at right) declared that "[w]e must make this the decade
of vaccines." He also noted
that "[i]nnovation will make it possible to save more children than ever
before." In addition, Mr. and
Mrs. Gates urged governments and corporations to increase vaccine investment. To date, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation has provided $4.5 billion for vaccine research, development, and
delivery.
Using
a model developed by a consortium led by the Institute of International
Programs at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Foundation
was able to project the potential impact of vaccines on childhood deaths over
the next ten years. The model
predicts that approximately 7.6 million children under 5 years of age can be
saved this decade by developing new vaccines to prevent severe diarrhea and
pneumonia (both of which are close to becoming available) and extending vaccine
coverage in developing countries to 90%.
The model also predicts that an additional 1.1 million children can be
saved by introducing a malaria vaccine in the developing world by 2014 (one
malaria vaccine candidate is currently in late-stage trials). In order to reach the Foundation's goal
of 90% coverage, however, Mr. Gates stated that billions in additional funding
will be required.
The
Gateses noted that their $10 billion pledge was inspired by recent progress
concerning vaccine research, development, and delivery in the developing
world. For example, the couple
pointed to World Health Organization (WHO) data showing that between 2000 and
2009, the percentage of children receiving the basic diphtheria, tetanus, and
pertussis (DTP3) vaccine in the poorest countries of the world jumped from 66%
to 79%, and that between 2000 and 2008, measles deaths in Africa dropped by 92%. In addition, a recent New England Journal of Medicine article shows
that the introduction of a rotavirus vaccine in South Africa and Malawi reduced
cases of severe diarrhea by more than 60%.
Appearing
with Mr. and Mrs. Gates was Julian Lob-Levyt, the CEO of the GAVI Alliance,
a global health partnership representing stakeholders in immunization from both
private and public sectors that was launched at the World Economic Forum ten
years ago. Mr. Gates noted that by
coordinating the resources and expertise of vaccine companies, donors, UNICEF,
WHO, the World Bank, and developing countries, the GAVI Alliance was "transforming
the business of vaccines," and had permitted the vaccination of 257
million additional children, preventing some 5 million deaths. Looking at the organization's past
accomplishments, Mr. Lob-Levyt observed that "[t]he potential to make
bigger strides in the coming decade is even more exciting."
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