AFRIQUE ACTU

MALARIA : New Malaria Test Kit Gives a Boost to Elimination Efforts Worldwide

Foussénou Sissoko — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:36:59 +0000

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A new, highly sensitive blood test that quickly detects even the lowest levels of malaria parasites in the body could make a dramatic difference in efforts to tackle the disease in the UK and across the world, according to new research published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

In two studies led by researchers in the UK and Switzerland, the new LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) test was compared to existing methods in London laboratories that deal with imported cases of malaria to the UK, and to diagnostic methods used in the field in Uganda, where malaria is a leading cause of illness and death.

The simple test, which can be performed by a non-specialist health worker and does not need refrigerating like other tests, requires a sample of blood to be processed and placed in a test tube with a reactive powder then heated. If the malaria-causing Plasmodium parasites are present, the tube glows green. The whole process takes less than an hour.

The first study, led in London by the Hospital for Tropical Diseases (HTD), the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, compared LAMP to existing laboratory diagnostic methods on 705 blood samples of suspected imported malaria cases in the UK.

Dr Colin Sutherland, Clinical Scientist at HTD and Reader in Parasitology at the Malaria Reference Laboratory at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: « According to data collected for Public Health England by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the UK treats at least 1,500 cases of imported malaria every year. Despite the very best efforts of the NHS, a handful of malaria related deaths still occur annually in UK hospitals. The new LAMP test for malaria performed very well when tested in the parasite reference laboratory at HTD, and correctly identified every malaria patient out of 705 malaria tests performed.

« An important advantage of LAMP is that non-specialist staff in any hospital in the UK will be able to accurately and rapidly detect the presence of malaria parasites, and immediately begin treatment without waiting for confirmation from local experts or specialist laboratories. This speed of diagnosis can make the difference between an uncomplicated episode of malaria that rapidly responds to treatment, and progression to severe disease, organ failure and heightened risk of death. It could also save the NHS a significant amount of money from having to treat the complications of malaria. »

LAMP was faster than PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, which require specialised laboratory equipment, costly reagents and advanced training. It was also more accurate than microscopic examination of blood slides, which require a trained specialist to identify the malaria parasites.

In the second study, researchers from HTD, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, Switzerland, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Uganda Ministry of Health, Kampala, looked at the accuracy of the test at a rural clinic in Uganda.

Blood samples from 272 patients with suspected malaria were tested using LA MP using a simple generator to provide electrical current. These results were compared with expert microscopy and PCR performed at central reference laboratories. LAMP detected cases of low-level malaria parasite infection that were missed by expert microscopy, and achieved accuracy similar to that of PCR down to very low levels. The researchers say these findings have important implications for eliminating malaria, which causes an estimated 660,000 deaths worldwide every year.

Dr Sutherland, who worked on both of the studies, said: « Patterns of malaria disease in Africa and elsewhere across the tropics are becoming much less predictable, and control of malaria needs an appropriate test to identify infected individuals in the populations at risk. These people may not display any malaria symptoms. We have begun using LAMP as a new tool for identifying « hot spots » of malaria infections which can be mopped up quickly through a combination of drug treatment, house spraying and distribution of bed-nets.

« LAMP will potentially contribute to saving many families and communities from the blight of a disease that keeps children from succeeding at school, prevents adults from growing food or working, holds back regional economies and exacts an annual death toll in the hundreds of thousands. »

The LAMP malaria test will now be used in the Malaria Reference Laboratory at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine to help identify imported cases of malaria in the UK as well as being used by health workers in the field in malaria endemic countries.

The LAMP malaria test is commercially available and was developed by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London and Eiken Chemical Company Ltd, Japan. The studies were funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of The Netherlands, and the UK Department for International Development.

(Source /Science News,May17-2013)

Foussénou Sissoko

Health Communication Expert

foussenou@ymail.com/sissokofouss@yahoo.fr

SANTE Encore Trop d’Inégalités selon l’OMS

Foussénou Sissoko — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:32:22 +0000

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Le fossé sanitaire entre pays développés et pays en voie de développement paraît s’être quelque peu résorbé. Les progrès réalisés au cours des deux décennies écoulées sont même remarquables. Pourtant selon les statistiques sanitaires mondiales publiées récemment par l’OMS, des inégalités majeures demeurent.

Dans le rapport OMS, on peut lire :

« Entre 1990 et 2011, la mortalité infantile a diminué de 40%, passant de 12 millions à 7 millions de morts par an, parmi les moins de 5 ans. « Le taux de survie des enfants s’est amélioré dans toutes les régions du monde », indique l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS). « Le nombre de pays dans lesquels au moins un enfant sur dix meurt avant ses 5 ans a diminué de plus de 50% ». Au début des années 1990, la différence du taux de mortalité entre pays riches et pays pauvres s’établissait à 171 décès pour 1 000 naissances. En 2011, elle n’était plus que de 107 décès pour 1 000 naissances ».

Des progrès inégaux

La différence observée au niveau de la mortalité maternelle, elle aussi, a considérablement diminué. Elle était de 915 décès maternels pour 100 000 naissances en 1990. Vingt-et-un ans plus tard, elle avait reculé à 512 décès pour 100 000. Autre satisfaction, la baisse spectaculaire du nombre de morts attribuables à la tuberculose. Celui-ci en effet, a connu une baisse de 40% depuis 1990.

« Nos statistiques démontrent clairement que le fossé séparant les pays développés des pays riches se réduit », se réjouit le Dr Ties Boerma, directeur à l’OMS du Département Statistique et informatique sanitaires. « Toutefois, la situation est loin d’être satisfaisante. Les progrès sont inégaux et de grandes disparités persistent entre les pays ».

Par exemple, la prématurité constitue aujourd’hui la première cause de mortalité dans le monde parmi les nouveau-nés. Chaque année, un million de décès lui est imputable. « Dans certains pays à faible revenu, près d’un enfant sur cinq nait avant terme ». En France par exemple, cette proportion est inférieure à un sur dix !

Par ailleurs, dans les pays en développement la pneumonie et la diarrhée sont responsables de près d’un tiers des décès parmi les enfants de moins de cinq ans. Et dans 90% des cas, il s’agit de petits vivant en Afrique subsaharienne et en Asie du Sud.

LES EXPERTS DE L’OMS INQUIETS

Les experts sont inquiets. En particulier pour les 75 pays qui concentrent 98% de la mortalité maternelle et infantile. Si 13 de ces Etats prioritaires sont considérés « en bonne voie » pour atteindre l’OMD 4 de réduction de la mortalité infantile (Bangladesh, Brésil, Chine, Égypte, Guatemala, Liberia, Madagascar, Maroc, Népal, Pérou, Tadjikistan, Turkménistan et Viêtnam), seuls quatre d’entre eux devraient atteindre l’OMD 5 d’amélioration de la santé maternelle d’ici à 2015. Il s’agit de la Chine, de l’Égypte, du Maroc et du Pérou.

Dans certains pays, la situation s’est même dégradée. C’est le cas notamment de l’Azerbaïdjan, du Botswana, du Burkina Faso, d’Haïti, du Lesotho et du Turkménistan. L’Afrique subsaharienne paie le plus lourd tribut à ce recul. Les taux de mortalité maternelle et infantile y sont parmi les plus élevés au monde. Quant aux progrès enregistrés, ils figurent parmi les plus faibles. Si aucune action d’envergure n’est mise en place, la majorité de ces pays n’atteindra pas d’ici à 2015, les Objectifs du Millénaires pour le Développement.

Pénurie financière

La réduction de la pauvreté, l’investissement dans l’éducation, la lutte contre les inégalités hommes-femmes, l’accès à l’eau et à un système d’assainissement sont autant d’objectifs qui doivent être poursuivis. « En l’absence de mesures urgentes, non seulement les OMD relatifs à la femme et à l’enfant ne seront pas atteints, mais les avancées réalisées ne pourront pas être pérennisées », prévient le groupe d’experts.

La situation est d’autant plus dramatique, que la mortalité de la mère et de l’enfant a globalement connu une réduction spectaculaire au cours des dix dernières années. En 1990, on estimait à 11,6 millions le nombre de décès d’enfants de moins de 5 ans. Ce chiffre n’était plus que de 7,2 millions en 2011. De même en 1990, le nombre de décès maternels recensés s’élevait à 409 053, alors qu’il avait reculé jusqu’à 273 465 en 2011.

Or « les ressources (financières) disponibles sont aujourd’hui très insuffisantes pour mettre en application les recommandations (qui s’imposent). Nous estimons ce déficit de financement à 64 millions de dollars (50 millions d’euros) au moins », concluent les experts.

AUCUN DES OBJECTIFS DU MILLENAIRE N’EST ATTEINT

OBJECTIF 4 : Réduire la mortalité infantile et post-infantile

CIBLE – Réduire de deux tiers, entre 1990 et 2015, le taux de mortalité des enfants de moins de 5 ans

Où en est-on? L’objectif n’est pas atteint

La mortalité des enfants a diminué de plus d’un tiers, mais la progression est encore trop lente pour que la cible soit atteinte.

Dans les régions en développement, le taux de mortalité des enfants de moins de cinq ans a baissé de 35% entre 1990 et 2010. Le nombre de décès est passé de 12 millions en 1990 à 7,6 millions en 2010. La couverture vaccinale, notament contre la rougeole, a permis de réduire ce taux. Néanmoins, l’Afrique Subsaharienne reste la région ayant le taux de mortalité le plus élevé. Le risque de décès est aussi plus élevé en zone rurale et dans les ménages les plus pauvres.

Alors que le taux de mortalité des enfants de moins de cinq ans a baissé dans son ensemble, la proportion des décès ayant lieu durant le premier mois après la naissance est en augmentation, passant de 37% en 1990 à 40% en 2010.

L’éducation de la mère demeure un puissant déterminant d’inégalité : les enfants de mères éduquées ont plus de chances de survivre que les enfants de mères sans éducation.

OBJECTIF 5 : Améliorer la santé maternelle

CIBLE 5.A – Réduire de trois quarts, entre 1990 et 2015, le taux de mortalité maternelle

Où en est-on? L’objectif n’est pas atteint.

Le nombre de décès maternels a diminué de 47% entre 1990 et 2010 et est estimé à 287000 pour 2010. La présence d’un personnel qualifié (médecin, infirmière ou sage-femme) est un facteur de diminution du nombre de décès. L’Asie du Sud et l’Afrique subsaharienne représentent 85% de la totalité des décès maternels en 2010 et ont aussi la couverture la plus faible en terme de présence d’un personnel qualifié.

Les soins prénatals font également partie des interventions pouvant réduire la mortalité maternelle.

Le taux de soins a augmenté fortement en Asie du Sud, Afrique du Nord et Asie de l’Ouest et la progression s’est trouvée ralentie dans les régions ou le taux de couverture était déjà très elevé comme en Asie du Sud-Est, Asie de l’Est et Amérique latine.

CIBLE 5.B – Rendre l’accès à la médecine procréative universel d’ici à 2015

Où en est-on? L’objectif n’est pas atteint

Le recours aux contraceptifs a contribué à des améliorations dans le domaine de la santé maternelle et infantile en permettant d’empêcher des grossesses non désirées ou trop rapprochées. Dans de nombreuses régions, le recours aux contraceptifs a augmenté entre 1990 et 2000 mais tend désormais à ralentir.

Les besoins non satisfaits en matière de planification familiale ( pourcentage des femmes de 15 à 49 ans, souhaitant retarder ou éviter une grossesse, mais qui n’ont recours a aucun moyen de contraception) ont diminués. Le financement des services et fournitures de planification familiale est un élément clé pour supprimer la non-satisfaction de la demade de contraceptifs. Par rapport à l’aide totale à la santé, l’aide à la planification familiale a diminué au cours des dix dernieres années.

Foussénou Sissoko,

Health Communication Expert

foussenou@ymail.com/sissokofouss@yahoo.fr

UN-FORUM-/Science-Technology and Innovation Diverse partnerships key to solving sustainable development challenges, UN forum told

Foussénou Sissoko — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:47:41 +0000

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The United Nations is looking to harness the benefits of science, technology and innovation to create jobs, end poverty, reduce inequality and address other challenges in sustainable development, senior officials today told UN partners in a special event during the 1,000 Days of Action for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

“I appreciate this opportunity to discuss the overarching global challenge of sustainable development – and how we can bring all partners together to advance this cause,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his remarks at the UN Headquarters in New York entitled ‘Partnering for Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Development.’

The special ECOSOC event is organized by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Office for Partnerships, the UN Global Compact and the Global Partnerships Forum.

The event brought together these bodies as well as Member States, the private sector, foundations and civil society to boost efforts towards reaching the MDGs by the target deadline and to promote thinking on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda.

“Technological learning and innovation capacity is critical to enable the provision of essential amenities to all and is therefore fundamental to ensuring overall sustainable development,” Néstor Osorio, president of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) said in his opening remarks.

“The absence of such capabilities results in limitations to application of existing technologies in all sectors, including those of public importance such as health, education, agriculture and climate change, to name but a few,” Mr. Osorio continued.

He noted that the messages emerging in today’s meeting dovetail with the key outcomes of yesterday’s ECOSOC Development Cooperation Forum special policy dialogue on private philanthropic foundations in the post-2015 setting.

“To achieve robust development results in future, a renewed global partnership for development must embrace diversity and recognize the roles of all stakeholders, including those of philanthropic organizations,” Mr. Osorio said to that group.

Today’s event features policy dialogues held in the morning and “partnerships clinics” in the afternoon focusing on potential solutions to development challenges facing Africa, as well as a keynote address from Mo Ibrahim, Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which awards a prize for good governance and leadership in Africa.

Given the importance of partnerships in the UN’s work, Mr. Ban announced today that he will propose the creation of a new UN Partnership Facility “to capture the full potential for partnership.”

“The Facility would help us deliver at scale – globally and at country level– across the range of UN mandates, goals and values,” Mr. Ban said. He added that the UN agencies, funds, programmes and departments would continue to conduct the majority of related activities, but the Facility would strategically and systematically fill in any gaps, as well as build and strengthen partnership services.

The recommendations from today’s events will be presented to ECOSOC’s high-level ministerial meeting in July. 2013

(Source UN-News Centre,24 April 2013)

Foussénou Sissoko

Health Communication Expert

foussenou@ymail.com/sissokofouss@yahoo.fr

UNAIDS : Leaders from China and Africa come together to strengthen partnership, cooperation and innovation

Foussénou Sissoko — Sun, 12 May 2013 16:57:59 +0000

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Chinese and African leaders during the first day of the 4th International Roundtable on China-Africa Health Cooperation. 6 May 2013

Leaders from China and Africa met in Gabarone, Botswana this week for the 4^th International Roundtable on China-Africa Health Cooperation in order to strengthen collaboration in health development and share knowledge and technology. The two day roundtable from 6-7 May was the first to be held in Africa.

Participants committed to develop concrete action plans to address pressing health issues including HIV, malaria, reproductive health, human resources and access to vaccines and commodities. The forum provided an opportunity for open dialogue about lessons learned as well as exploring South-South cooperation initiatives to overcome challenges such as guaranteeing safe products, ensuring adequate capacity, increasing transparency and strengthening health systems.

“China and Africa have a long history of collaborating on health, built on shared challenges and experiences addressing similar issues,” said Hon. Rev. Dr. John G. N. Seakgosing, Botswana Minister of Health. “China has a unique role in supporting African health progress. And with this roundtable, we look forward to deepening our partnership to benefit the health of our citizens.”

The AIDS response and other experiences paved the way for transformative progress on health and can help China and Africa to engage on a whole new level and innovate on a broad range of health issues.

Dr Luiz Loures, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme.

South-South cooperation, where mutually beneficial partnerships between developing and emerging economies are adding new thinking and new resources to global health and development was a keynote of the roundtable. Such cooperation, creating a ‘win-win’ scenario, is based on shared experience of similar challenges and priorities: both Africa and China view healthcare as critical to their economic success.

“Africa’s future is closely linked with our own and improving health is a critical building block toward a common prosperity,” said Dr Ren Minghui, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation at China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission. “African countries have made tremendous gains to improve the health of their citizens. With China and Africa working hand-in-hand on health, we can have even greater impact.”

The forum examined ways in which China can share its advances in research and development, its commitment to producing high-quality, lower cost, safe health technologies and how it can forge new partnerships with African countries. In return China can learn from the continent’s best practices, including progress made in expanding AIDS treatment, responding to the epidemic in rural areas and stopping new HIV infections among children.

H.E. Dr Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko, Commissioner of Social Affairs of the African Union (left) and Dr Luiz Loures, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme at 4th China-Africa Roundtable on Health, 7 May 2013

This exchange was analysed in detail during an HIV session, chaired by UNAIDS, which incorporated an update on the ground-breaking African Union roadmap on shared responsibility and global solidarity for AIDS, TB and malaria. Opportunities for strengthened China-Africa HIV partnership were explored, such as developing antiretroviral therapy drug manufacturing technology through joint ventures and technical support for local production.

“The global health landscape is changing with more partners than ever joining these efforts,” said Dr Luiz Loures, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme. “The AIDS response and other experiences paved the way for transformative progress on health and can help China and Africa to engage on a whole new level and innovate on a broad range of health issues.”

In addition, the roundtable discussed pilot project proposals for collaboration in areas such as strengthening laboratory systems; training African health personnel and sharing China’s expertise in cold chain management and surveillance systems to boost immunizations.

It is hoped that the roundtable policy consultations will help to lay the groundwork for a long-term strategic collaboration plan around the upcoming Health Ministerial Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in August.

The 4th China-Africa Roundtable on Health Cooperation was hosted by the Botswana Ministry of Health, Peking University’s Institute for Global Health and China’s Chamber of Commerce and Ministry of Commerce. Joining African and Chinese Minsters of Health, Commerce and Foreign Affairs and their representatives were leaders of the African Union, the United Nations, international organizations, NGOs and major companies.

(source/UNAIDS press-release,7 May 2013)

Foussénou Sissoko

Health Communication Expert

foussenou@ymail.com/sissokofouss@yahoo.fr

HEALTH NEWS: UN Hails Midwives’ Contribution to Maternal Health Worldwide

Foussénou Sissoko — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:50:23 +0000

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Midwives can make the difference between life and death for hundreds of thousands of women every year, the United Nations population agency affirmed today, recognizing their crucial role in improving maternal health, family planning and assisting during humanitarian emergencies.

« Economic differences, inequalities in countries and inaccessibility of services in some areas contribute to a shortage of some 350,000 midwives at a time when the world needs midwives more than ever, » the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Confederation of Midwives said in a joint « statement » to mark the International Day of the Midwife, observed on 5 May.

« We urge all nations to work together to address the inequalities and inaccessibility of midwifery services. We encourage them to support quality training, innovative technologies and an enabling environment for midwives to match the vital role they play in communities and societies, especially in developing countries. »

According to UNFPA, midwives save the lives of some 300,000 women each year and 10 times as many infants. They are also key in ensuring universal access to voluntary family planning, and this alone could help prevent 87 million unintended pregnancies as well as unsafe abortions and maternal deaths.

« About 222 million women want to delay or avoid pregnancies, but lack the modern means to do so, » said the statement. « Midwives’ invaluable counselling skills are instrumental in empowering young couples and women to make the decisions that are right for their particular situations. »

In addition to caring for women during and after childbirth, midwives also provide a wide range of assistance in humanitarian agencies, and they train and supervise community health workers to provide information and promote safer practices during crises.

In South Sudan, where maternal mortality is estimated at 2,054 deaths for every 100,000 live births, midwives are vital in reducing maternal mortality, as they provide skilled birth attendance, family planning and emergency obstetric care, UNFPA Deputy Representative in South Sudan, Bannet Ndyanabangi said.

UNFPA is supporting the Government there to train midwives in four health training institutions — Maridi, Kajo Keji, Wau and Juba College of Nursing and Midwives, with support from the Canadian International Development Agency, Dr. Ndyanabangi said.

« We hope that in the next four to five years, about 500 health workers will graduate from these institutions, including 200 to 300 midwives, » he said.

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

Click here: UN Hails Midwives’ Contribution to Maternal Health Worldwide | Scoop News

News from Foussénou Sissoko

Health Communication Expert

foussenou@ymail.com/sissokofouss@yahoo.fr

SEMAINE MONDIALE DE LA VACCINATION. Vaccination : une semaine pour convaincre

Foussénou Sissoko — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:55:52 +0000

Du 20 au 27 avril 2013 se tiendra la Semaine mondiale de la vaccination. Lancée en 2005 par l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS), cet événement se déroule dans près de 200 pays dans le monde L’objectif est de rappeler l’importance d’être à jour de ses vaccins, pour la santé personnelle et collective. « Les vaccins permettent de lutter contre un grand nombre de maladies infectieuses », rappelle l’INPES. En outre, « se faire vacciner sert à se protéger individuellement des maladies, mais c’est aussi un geste citoyen qui sert l’intérêt collectif. En se faisant vacciner, on évite la propagation des maladies et on réduit le risque d’épidémie. » Pourtant, en France, la couverture vaccinale reste insuffisante. Pour favoriser une meilleure compréhension, cette édition 2013 se donne pour but de convaincre un maximum de Français. C’est dans cette perspective qu’un calendrier vaccinal simplifié a été publié par le ministère de la Santé. Vacciner contre le retour de maladies (presque) éradiquées De son côté, l’Académie nationale de Pharmacie s’associe à la mobilisation. Elle « espère que le nouveau calendrier vaccinal simplifié favorisera une meilleure compréhension du public et son adhésion à cet acte essentiel de prévention ». La vaccination permet d’empêcher la recrudescence de maladies infectieuses. Et pour cause ! « Les maladies infectieuses infantiles n’ont pas disparu. Elles touchent de plus en plus les jeunes adultes et les adultes souvent âgés », rappelle l’Académie. De plus, « des enfants, faute d’avoir été vaccinés, meurent encore de maladies évitables ». D’ailleurs « certaines affections infectieuses comme la diphtérie ou la rougeole, sur le point d’être éliminées, réapparaissent ». C’est pourquoi « il est important de se vacciner et de faire vacciner ses enfants, sans oublier les rappels », conclut-elle. ‘(Source//Destination Santé.com/19 Avril 2013) Foussénou Sissoko Health Communication Expert foussenou@ymail.com/sissokofouss@yahoo.fr

Polio eradication is achievable by 2018 and urgent, declare 400+ global scientists

Foussénou Sissoko — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 09:53:27 +0000

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Experts from 80 countries cite time-limited opportunity, endorse comprehensive new eradication strategy

Hundreds of scientists, doctors and other experts from around the world launched the Scientific Declaration on Polio Eradication today, declaring that an end to the paralyzing disease is achievable and endorsing a comprehensive new strategy to secure a lasting polio-free world by 2018. The declaration’s launch coincides with the 58th anniversary of the announcement of Jonas Salk’s revolutionary vaccine.

The more than 400 signatories to the declaration urged governments, international organizations and civil society to do their part to seize the historic opportunity to end polio and protect the world’s most vulnerable children and future generations from this debilitating but preventable disease. The declaration calls for full funding and implementation of the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018, developed by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). With polio cases at an all-time low and the disease remaining endemic in just three countries, the GPEI estimates that ending the disease entirely by 2018 can be achieved for a cost of approximately $5.5 billion.

« We have the tools we need and a time-limited opening to defeat polio. The GPEI plan is the comprehensive roadmap that, if followed, will get us there, » said Dr. Walter Orenstein, professor and associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center at Emory University and former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Immunization Program. Dr. Orenstein is one of the scientists spearheading the declaration and among the signatories who were on the frontlines of ending smallpox, the only human disease to be successfully eradicated.

The declaration – housed online by Emory University at vaccines.emory.edu/poliodeclaration – notes that polio vaccines have already protected hundreds of millions of children from the disease and eliminated one of the three types of wild poliovirus, proving that eradication is scientifically feasible. It calls on the international community to meet the goals in the GPEI plan for delivering polio vaccines to more children at risk, particularly in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan, where polio remains endemic and emergency action plans launched over the past year have resulted in significant improvements in vaccine coverage.

« Securing a lasting polio-free world goes hand in hand with strengthening routine immunization. We need all countries to prioritize investments in routine immunization, » said Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, founding director of the Center of Excellence in Women and Child Health at Aga Khan University. Dr. Bhutta, one of the declaration’s leaders, is a member of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization, a technical advisory body to the GPEI.

The declaration emphasizes that achieving polio eradication requires efforts interrelated with strengthening routine immunization, a new focus of the GPEI plan. As the last cases of polio are contained, high levels of routine immunization will be critical. At the same time, resources and learning from polio eradication efforts can be used to strengthen coverage of other life-saving vaccines, including for children who have never been reached with any health interventions before.

The scientists and experts signing the declaration called on the international community to take steps outlined in the GPEI plan to address challenges that have posed obstacles to polio eradication in the past, including improving immunization campaign quality to reach missed children and eliminating rare polio cases originated by the oral polio vaccine. While previous polio efforts have sought to interrupt wild virus transmission and then address vaccine-derived virus, the new GPEI plan addresses both simultaneously with a timetable to phase out use of oral polio vaccines and introduce inactivated polio vaccines. The declaration urges vaccine manufacturers to provide an affordable supply of the different vaccines required for eradication, and calls on scientists to continue researching new and better tools.

« As long as it exists anywhere in the world, polio threatens children everywhere, » said Professor Helen Rees, executive director of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, who signed the declaration and chairs SAGE. « By pursuing in parallel all of the steps needed to reach eradication, including the introduction of inactivated vaccines, countries have a complete path to eliminate polio’s threat. » In November 2012, SAGE recommended the introduction of at least one dose of inactivated polio vaccine into all routine immunization programs prior to the phase-out of oral polio vaccines.

In light of recent attacks on health workers in some endemic countries, the declaration stresses the need to protect polio vaccination teams as they do their work. The GPEI plan includes a series of risk-mitigation strategies for insecure areas, including deepening engagement with community and religious leaders.

The scientists and experts signing the declaration hail from 80 countries and include Nobel laureates, vaccine and infectious disease experts, public health school deans, pediatricians and other health authorities. More than 40 leading universities and schools of public health and medicine are promoting the declaration on their websites, including Aga Khan University, the Harvard School of Public Health, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Al Azhar University (Egypt), University of Cape Town, Redeemer’s University (Nigeria) and Christian Medical College Vellore (India).

The declaration notes that the world has a unique window of opportunity to eradicate polio. Only 223 new cases due to wild poliovirus were recorded in 2012, an historic low and a more than 99 percent decrease from the estimated 350,000 cases in 1988. Just 16 new cases have been reported so far in 2013 (as of 9 April). India, long-regarded as the most difficult place to eliminate polio, has not recorded a case in more than two years.

« Eradicating polio is no longer a question of technical or scientific feasibility. Rather, getting the most effective vaccines to children at risk requires stronger political and societal commitment, » said Dr. David Heymann, head and senior fellow at the Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security and a signatory of the declaration. « Eliminating the last one percent of polio cases is an immense challenge, as is the eradication endgame after that. But by working together we can make history and leave the legacy of a polio-free world for future generations. »

(Source EurekAlert/Global Health Strategies/Public release 11April 2013)

Foussénou Sissoko

Health Communication Expert

foussenou@ymail.com/sissokofouss@yahoo.fr

Global Fund Targets $15 Billion to Effectively Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria

Foussénou Sissoko — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 14:45:22 +0000

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The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced a goal of raising US$15 billion so that it can effectively support countries in fighting these three infectious diseases in the 2014-2016 period.

· The Global Fund is determined to accelerate the gains achieved in recent years against AIDS, TB and malaria through strategic investment in programs that can save millions of lives and tens of billions of dollars in future costs. While acknowledging the challenging fiscal environment in many countries, the Global Fund and its partners point to the remarkable value for money that investing in health provides.

· “We have a choice: we can invest now or pay forever,” said Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Innovations in science and implementation have given us a historic opportunity to completely control these diseases. If we do not, the long-term costs will be staggering.”

· President Joyce Banda of Malawi, a leader in efforts to prevent and treat infectious diseases in Africa, said that raising money for the Global Fund was essential to defeat AIDS, TB and malaria.

· “The progress we have made with the support of Global Fund and has shown us what we can do when we come together,” said President Banda. “Defeating these diseases is a shared responsibility. African countries are doing their utmost to provide human and financial resources for the health of their people. But we need strong support of the Global Fund to succeed.”

· The Global Fund is convening a donor’s conference in Brussels on 9 and 10 April to present an overall needs assessment for the 2014-2016 period and an update on results and impact from recent years, which have helped achieve dramatic success in fighting AIDS, TB and malaria. Donors will be invited to a once-every-three-years pledging conference, known as the Global Fund’s Fourth Replenishment, in late 2013.

· Working together with technical partners at WHO, UNAIDS, Roll Back Malaria and the Stop TB Partnership, the Global Fund formulated a needs assessment that demonstrates that raising US$15 billion would lead to a transformative effect in the incidence and death rates of HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria.

· When combined with other funding, including an estimated US$37 billion from domestic sources in implementing countries and US$24 billion from other international sources, a US$15 billion contribution to the Global Fund would allow the collective work to address 87 percent of the global resource needs to fight these three diseases, estimated at a total of US$87 billion.

· Reaching the Global Fund’s goal, together with other funding, would mean that 17 million patients with tuberculosis and with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis could receive treatment, saving almost 6 million lives over this three-year period.

· This level of funding would prevent millions of new cases of malaria, and would save approximately 196,000 additional lives each year than with current funding levels by preventing a resurgence and renewed epidemic of malaria.

· It would also mean preventing more than one million new infections of HIV each year — saving billions of dollars in care and treatment for the long-term. Antiretroviral therapy could become available to more than 18 million people in affected countries by 2016, up from 8 million in 2012.

· Overall, effective funding means that collective efforts can turn what scientists call high-transmission epidemics into low-level endemics, essentially making them manageable health problems instead of global emergencies.

· The new funding model recently launched by the Global Fund can achieve greater impact by encouraging ambitious programs and by focusing interventions and financing for specific populations. By reaching highly vulnerable, marginalized and stigmatized groups, including young women, sex workers, people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men and prisoners, more programs will maximize impact while advancing human rights.

· The new funding model also strives to align investments in HIV, TB and malaria with national health strategies while strengthening health systems and serving as a platform for promoting the health of a person rather than only combating specific diseases.

· “We can defeat these diseases by working with partners,” said Dr Dybul. “Collectively, we know what has to be done, and we know how to do it. But we have to work together to succeed.”

· ###

· The Global Fund is an international financing institution dedicated to attracting and disbursing resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria. The Global Fund promotes partnerships between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities, the most effective way to help reach those in need. This innovative approach relies on country ownership and performance-based funding, meaning that people in countries implement their own programs based on their priorities and the Global Fund provides financing where verifiable results are achieved.

· Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has supported more than 1,000 programs in 151 countries, providing AIDS treatment for 4.2 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 9.7 million people and 310 million insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts in dealing with the three diseases.

· (Source The Global Fund Newslette/ www.theglobalfund.org. )

· News from Foussénou Sissoko

· Health Communication Expert

· foussenou@ymail.com/sissokofouss@yahoo.fr

Ensuring HIV and health targets post-2015 International HIV/AIDS Alliance participation in the debates

Foussénou Sissoko — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 09:53:30 +0000

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In the year 2000 world governments endorsed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), launching a 15 year agenda to address key aspects of development such as hunger, education, gender equality and health. Among three new health goals, MDG 6 pledged to combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases.

MDG 6 injected much-needed energy into the global AIDS response at a time when 5 million people were contracting HIV each year and 3 million were dying of AIDS related illness. It led to a UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV in 2001 and to the founding of the Global Fund, a war chest for the fights against AIDS, TB and Malaria.

We have progress on MDG 6, but we can’t stop now

Today over 8 million people in developing countries are on antiretroviral treatment (ART) – a figure that was unimaginable in 2000. Mother to child transmission has been reduced by over half and HIV programmes have scaled up access to testing and condoms while also strengthening health systems. Yet we still have a long way to go. Only half of those in immediate need currently receive treatment, and for every person who starts ART, two are newly infected. People living with HIV and key populations at higher risk face continued human rights violations which impede their access to services and undermine prevention.

What do we want in the new framework?

As the end point for the MDGs draws nearer, governments and UN institutions are already defining a new framework to replace the current goals, and the Alliance is working to ensure that HIV is included in it. Recognising that getting several disease-specific goals will be a challenge this time, the Alliance supports a single health goal which is focused on achieving the unmet health MDGs and addressing the other main causes of illness and preventable death. Under this goal, we are pushing for targets on HIV which can address the challenges that we still face while bringing us closer to a world without AIDS. We can do this by agreeing targets that aim to significantly reduce new HIV infections globally and to end AIDS-related deaths. Responding to a strong push from our Linking Organisations, we also propose a third target on the elimination of punitive and discriminatory laws which prevent people living with HIV, LGBT people, people who use drugs, sex workers and other marginalised people from accessing health and other services.

Outside the Alliance, some are lobbying for a goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) – an approach to health systems which would ensure that all people can access affordable health care, whatever their income. While the Alliance supports UHC as a means to improve health, UHC is not a health outcome and we do not see it as an end goal in itself.

Alliance participation in the debates

In January the Alliance ran a series of online seminars for staff and Linking Organisations. Since then, our Linking Organisations have championed HIV in national consultations in countries ranging from Morocco to Zambia and Peru to the Ukraine. Baba Goumbala, the Alliance’s Regional Representative for West Africa, participated in an Africa-wide regional consultation. Baba was a lone but valued voice as the only delegate making the evidence-based case for HIV and his interventions are reflected in the Africa consultation report.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, where civil society involvement in the post 2015 process has been very low, our Regional Representative Javier Hourcade Bellocq is working to increase participation and raise the profile of Latin America in the discussions. Jet Riparip, the Alliance’s Representative in Asia and the Pacific, has blogged about the issues being raised in her region. As a partner in the Stop AIDS Alliance which is represented in Brussels, Geneva, Amsterdam and Washington, the Alliance also ensured the inclusion of HIV in the European Commission’s position.

Alongside the national and regional consultations, eleven thematic consultations have also taken place and we have been active in the health and inequality tracks. Back in January, we brought together more than 80 HIV, Malaria and TB advocates to plan ways to have a strong shared voice in these processes. Last month we drafted a letter to delegates at the closing meeting of the global health consultation in Botswana, which was endorsed by 155 organisations. The Communique resulting from the Botswana meeting proposed an overarching goal of maximising health at all stages of life, with sub goals on accelerating progress against the unmet health MDGs and combating the major non-communicable diseases, directly echoing the demands in our letter. The Alliance also provided input to the global consultation on inequality, helping to secure strong recommendations on law reform.

What’s next?

This month, we will share our demands with the High Level Panel on the post 2015 framework chaired by Liberian President Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, Indonesian Premier Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and UK Prime Minister David Cameron as they prepare a final report to submit to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on 31 May. Beyond that, we will continue to support national and global advocacy building up to a UN General Assembly on the post 2015 development agenda, opening 9 September in New York.

For more information, download our discussion paper on how the HIV community can shape the future HIV and development agenda.

Why not join the global conversation. Share your voice. What kind of World do you Want? Add your voice now on www.worldwewant2015.org

(Source International HIV/AIDS Alliance publication April3,2013)

Foussénou Sissoko

Health Communication Expert

foussenou@ymail.com/sissokofouss yahoo.fr

HIV/AIDS-AFTER 2015 Activists fear less focus on HIV after 2015

Foussénou Sissoko — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 09:48:15 +0000

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As a UN high-level panel completes worldwide consultations to pick development goals for 2015 and beyond, PlusNews consulted experts to see how HIV/AIDS might fit into this new agenda.

The UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, Prasada Rao, told IRIN countries have generally done well on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6, which seeks to stop new HIV infections by 2015.

Twenty-two of the 33 countries that have seen a drop in HIV incidences from 2001-2010 are in sub-Saharan Africa, the hardest-hit region. New HIV infections have been halved from their levels a decade ago, but the goal needs to be carried forward, said Rao. “We can’t just drop it here. We need to go the full length.”

When the MDG goals were presented in 2000 – along with a 2015 deadline to meet them – the idea of an AIDS-free world invited incredulity, said the envoy. But prevention and treatment gains in recent years changed perceptions, he added. “It is no longer [just] an aspiration, but an achievable [goal]… The time has come when we really need to look at this concept of ending AIDS and how to position it in the post-2015 agenda.”

Since August 2012, the UN has held 83 national consultations on creating goals for 2015-2030. For health-related goals, a draft report has been prepared for the 27-member high-level panel. The draft is based on months of moderated debates, web-based consultations, e-surveys, e-discussions and face-to-face meetings with civil society groups, governments, researchers as well as more than 100 position papers.

Focus moving away from HIV?

The 28 February draft includes calls for HIV to be among the new goals, but also suggestions to move beyond disease-specific goals (an “overly narrow, target-driven approach” according to the UK NGO Health Poverty Action) to address health equity, non-communicable disease and weak health systems.

During the consultations, there were already signs that HIV might lose attention, the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO) wrote in a December 2012 release: “There are rumblings that the post-2015 health agenda will focus on cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other less politicized afflictions. HIV is no longer seen as a crisis; ironically the AIDS response is being dealt a blow by its own success.”

ICASO, along with Stop AIDS Alliance and International Civil Society Support, hosted an online survey, webinars and a January meeting in Amsterdam for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria advocates.

The health draft report currently reads: “Pulling back from these goals now would waste the profitable investments made to date. Ending preventable child and maternal deaths, and ending the epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria should be reaffirmed as global priorities.”

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has cautioned against “an overarching health goal that covers such a long list of issues that is it impossible to set any priority” while Stop AIDS Alliance called for “approaches that place human rights and equity at the centre [and] move away from the top-down thinking that characterized the MDGs”.

Clarity needed

At a meeting on health in the post-2015 agenda, held in Botswana earlier this month, participants lauded gains facilitated by MDGs – increased funding and attention to global health, for one – but also noted how these goals led to “fragmented approaches to development”.

For Asia’s AIDS envoy, Rao, goals have to be demystified to attract supporters, including parliamentarians, to fight HIV. “Otherwise, it looks very exotic. What do you mean by an AIDS-free generation? One of the [slogans] we used at UNAIDS was ‘End AIDS’, but what do you mean by ‘End AIDS’? You need to translate that into clearly actionable strategies and programmes. What needs to be done in the next 10 years to end AIDS?”

For him, those steps are: reduce new HIV infections to negligible levels, with elimination targets; provide antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to at least 80 percent of those who need it; and change laws, or their enforcement, that have blocked access to HIV prevention and treatment services.

One target of MDG 6 is to provide ARVs to all in need by 2010; this target is still unmet. According to the 2012 MDG Progress Report, from 2008-2010, about 1.3 million new people were enrolled and retained on ARVs. At this rate, less than 14 million people will be receiving treatment at the end of 2015, over one million short of the 15 million target, the report calculated.

( Source/ IRIN-Plus News, 28 March 2013)

Foussénou Sissoko

Health Communication Expert

fousssenou@ymail.com/sissokofouss@yahoo.fr