Global leaders led by African Heads of State have today announced the first in a series of pledges to accelerate progress against malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) at the historic Kigali Summit on Malaria and NTDs.
Hosted by His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, the Kigali Summit featured commitments totalling more than $US 4 billion including funding from governments, international organisations, philanthropists, and private sector support. In addition, 18 billion tablets have been donated by pharmaceutical companies for preventing and treating NTDs.
This was the first ever joint malaria and NTDs summit with Heads of State hosted on the African continent. It was attended by world leaders including His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, His Excellency Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana, His Excellency Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Honourable Dr Philip Isdor Mpango, Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania, His Excellency Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State, UAE and the Dr Osagie Ehanire, the Honourable Minister of Health, Federal Republic of Nigeria and took place alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The private sector responded to a call from the Heads of Government by stepping up its support too. Private sector organisations made a range of commitments encompassing increased research funding, enhancing local manufacturing capacity including from BioNTech to produce new generation vaccines locally leveraging mRNA technology, support for regional initiatives (such as GoodbyeMalaria), new safe, accessible diagnostics for NTDs such as snakebite envenoming and more than 18 billion tablets were donated to NTDs by nine pharmaceutical companies.
Pfizer made a ground-breaking commitment to extend its antibiotic donation program through 2030, enabling continued trachoma elimination programs in more than 19 countries globally.
GSK reaffirmed its commitment to donate albendazole until elimination of lymphatic filariasis, extend its soil transmitted helminths (STH) donation to include pre-school children and include a third disease on the WHO’s 2030 NTDs Roadmap, echinococcosis. GSK also committed to invest £1 billion in R&D over the next decade to get ahead of high burden infectious diseases that disproportionately impact LMICs to ensure that no one is left behind.
Novartis is investing USD 250 million to advance R&D into new treatments to combat NTDs and malaria, including USD 100 million to advance R&D of its NTD programme, focusing on novel drug candidates for four diseases, and USD 150 million for next generation antimalarials.
The Wellcome Trust committed to delivering £80 million worth of funding towards research on snakebite envenoming treatment.
Biopharmaceutical company BioNTech announced plans to deliver a highly effective vaccine based on its proprietary mRNA technology for the prevention of malaria and disease-associated mortality, with the clinical trial for the first malaria vaccine candidates to start by the end of 2022.
Further support for malaria and NTDs programmes was also delivered by philanthropic foundations and funds, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.