Marissa Chmiola

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, GHTC staff embraced our health policy wonkiness by participating in the time-honored beltway tradition: #HealthPolicyValentines. For those who are unfamiliar, this tradition started in 2012 when a former staffer and Twitter aficionado at the US Department of Health and Human Services, Emma Sandoe, became inspired to “tweet one ‘health policy valentine’ every day until Valentine’s Day.” Other health policy experts soon joined in with their own poems and puns related to health care, and an annual tradition was born. Now every February, health policy wonks tweet out their most creative #HealthPolicyValentines. This year, GHTC staff joined in on the fun to share our passion for global health research and development (R&D). Here are our favorites:  Roses are red 🌹 Congress is divided ➗ But if it could deliver strong health R&D funding 💪💰 I’d be delighted 👍#HealthPolicyValentines— Marissa Chmiola (@MarissaChmiola) February 12, 2024 Roses are red Noma’s a place in DC But it was also recognized by @WHO As the latest NTD#HealthPolicyValentines #BeatNTDs— Marissa Chmiola (@MarissaChmiola) February 12, 2024 Roses are red 🌹 CRs are now “laddered” 🪜 Giving more headaches to health wonks 😣Whose brains already feel scattered 🤯#HealthPolicyValentines— Marissa Chmiola (@MarissaChmiola) February 12, 2024 Mosquitoes are spreading Into regions anew #Malaria is not only a threat in Africa It’s hit Maryland too.#HealthPolicyValentines — Philip Kenol (@Phil_kenol88) February 13, 2024 Penicillin was Sir Fleming’s great findThe field of medicine redefinedSo Fleming won a Nobel and changed historyBut the threat of #AMR is now no mysteryWe need new drugs, tests, & vaccines designedA historic poem from our colleague Anum Adrees! #HealthPolicyValentines 🧫💌— GHTC (@GHTCoalition) February 13, 2024 @USAID’s health R&D has saved millionsThat is a fact!But to supercharge it’s workCongress must pass the SIGHT Act#HealthPolicyValentines— Alex Long (@W_AlexLong) February 14, 2024 Roses are redValentine’s Day is blahI don’t get why CongressCan’t just authorize #PAHPA#HealthPolicyValentines— Alex Long (@W_AlexLong) February 14, 2024 From GHTC staff Anum: Valentine’s is in FebruaryMarch is the month afterRemember March 2020?Yeah, that was a disasterOf pandemic threats we should be warySay the disease forecastersSo let’s get pandemic-readyAnd develop those vaccines faster!#HealthPolicyValentines 💝— GHTC (@GHTCoalition) February 14, 2024 The times we live in are rather scaryBut today, we feel quite contraryWe love these #HealthPolicyValentinesThey give us hope that through our work, we can save lives!One last poem from our colleague Hannah! 💌💝— GHTC (@GHTCoalition) February 14, 2024

The health ministers of G20 nations concluded their annual meeting last weekend with the adoption of an “outcome document” that includes welcome commitments to advance the research and development (R&D) of health products. While normally such a ministerial-level meeting would end with the release of a formal consensus communique, broader geopolitics derailed this process, with Russia and China opposing the inclusion of language condemning the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Below we break down what R&D commitments are included in the outcome document, why it matters, and where conversations are expected to go from here. What’s in the declaration? At the highest level, G20 nations made commitments to strengthen the global health architecture and “build more resilient, equitable, sustainable and inclusive health systems equipped to address ongoing global health challenges and future public health emergencies with equitable access to safe, effective, quality-assured and affordable vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other medical countermeasures.” They also reaffirmed their commitment to ending the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria; achieving polio eradication; advancing universal health coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR). On the latter issue of AMR, the ministers vowed to strengthen R&D for AMR and further the development of novel antimicrobials. They welcomed the work of various international initiatives and GHTC members including the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) and the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) and voiced continued support for the Global AMR R&D Hub, which was established under the German G20 presidency to promote AMR R&D coordination. On the broader issue of R&D for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPPR), G20 leaders agreed to support a World Health Organization (WHO)-led consultative process to develop an interim (and potentially later permanent) medical countermeasures (MCMs) mechanism to coordinate the end-to-end R&D, manufacturing, procurement, and equitable delivery of MCMs during health emergencies. They advised that such a mechanism should consider a “network of networks” approach, building off existing international and regional partnerships, and should be coherent with the outcomes of ongoing efforts to amend the International Health Regulations (IHR) and advance a binding pandemic instrument. Additionally, the ministers underscored the need to strengthen local and regional R&D networks and manufacturing capabilities, especially in low- and middle-income countries, as well as voiced support for what many call the “100 Days Mission” to develop and make available safe and effective vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics within 100 days of the identification of a pandemic or epidemic threat. They also noted the importance of public-private R&D partnerships—calling out the contributions of GHTC members the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), and FIND—and technology transfer and knowledge sharing “on voluntary and mutually agreed terms.”Why it matters?  G20 nations currently conduct and fund the majority of the world’s health R&D. Thus, it is great to see G20 leaders reaffirm the importance of R&D to achieving UHC, SDGs, and PPPR and demonstrate political will to accelerate R&D efforts. However, the outcome document is short on specifics as to how G20 countries intend to operationalize their many promises, and it disappointingly includes no new funding targets or commitments.  Additionally, going into this year’s G20 cycle, many observers and health advocates also expected that the G20 under the Indian presidency would play a more active role in envisioning and detailing a specific proposal for the creation of an end-to-end MCMs mechanism or platform to succeed and build upon the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator. Instead, the G20 simply promised to support a WHO-led consultative process to design an interim mechanism and punted it to the International Negotiating Body (INB) process for a pandemic instrument to determine the prospects for a permanent MCMs platform. What’s next? With G20 nations offering few specifics on a vision to reimagine the global health architecture and advance an MCMs platform, the focal point for change is now squarely within the separate but interrelated processes now underway to amend the IHR, advance a pandemic accord that will create a more comprehensive framework for how countries will prevent and respond to outbreaks, and design an interim MCMs platform. While these processes have been ongoing, the deliberations have been stymied as countries struggle to reach consensus around thorny R&D topics like access and benefit sharing, with some pushing for more aggressive legally binding commitments for transparency, conditions on public R&D funding, patent waivers, and new supply chain mechanisms for ensuring low- and middle-income countries access to medical countermeasures. Questions remain on the full scope of some of the processes, and how they will delineate which issues will be tackled where and with the target date of May 2024 for the adoption of an instrument rapidly approaching and the INB and IHR processes largely behind schedule, it remains to be seen what tangible changes for R&D can be realized. While it is impossible to know what exactly what the future of these negotiations hold, GHTC promises to continue to watch, weigh in, and report back in the months ahead as these interrelated processes unfold. Stay tuned! 

Interested in more global health innovation news? Every week GHTC scours media reports worldwide to deliver essential global health R&D news and content to your inbox. Sign up now to receive our weekly R&D News Roundup email. Scientists have discovered that a naturally occurring strain of bacteria could help reduce the transmission of malaria by stopping the development of parasites in a mosquito’s gut. The bacteria, TC1, was found by chance when GSK scientists noticed that one of their mosquito colonies had stopped becoming infected with malaria parasites and later identified TC1 as the cause. Researchers have since observed that the bacteria works by secreting a small molecule, called harmane, which inhibits the parasite’s growth and that can be ingested by mosquitoes if mixed with sugar or absorbed by contact, opening the possibility for it to be used as an abatement tool. A recent study found that the bacteria can reduce a mosquito’s parasitic load by up to 73 percent, and trials in Burkina Faso are ongoing to assess the intervention’s effectiveness and safety in real-world settings.An international team of researchers has identified a genetic variant among some people of African ancestry that is associated with them having naturally lower viral loads of HIV—thereby slowing their illness progression and lowering the risk of them transmitting the virus. According to the researchers, this is the first new genetic variant related to HIV infection discovered within the last nearly 30 years. Between 4 to 13 percent of people of African origin are thought to carry this variant, which was discovered through an analysis of the DNA of almost 4,000 people of African ancestry infected with HIV-1. The scientists now intend to continue studies to more fully understand how exactly this variant impacts HIV replication.Health experts are warning that dengue poses a danger to pregnant women, as new research has found that the disease can cause serious health complications for both mothers and their unborn babies. A recent study from the University of Surrey found that mild infection can make a pregnant individual 77 percent more likely to give birth before 32 weeks and can more than double the risk of the child being born with extremely low birth weight, which can affect brain development. This work builds on prior research that found pregnant women are three to four times more likely to die after becoming infected and 450 times more likely if their infection progresses into dengue hemorrhagic fever. There are currently no specific treatments for dengue, and existing vaccines are not recommended for pregnant women.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) recently released a new five-year strategy to guide its global health research and development (R&D) efforts. Informed by the input of more than 150 stakeholders, the latest strategy continues the agency’s core focus on developing, introducing, and scaling up health technologies and approaches; advancing implementation science; and strengthening R&D systems while more intentionally embedding approaches of partnership, local leadership, monitoring and evaluation, and adaptive learning into its work.Why it matters:  The release of the strategy represents a renewed commitment by the agency to R&D. For more than 50 years, USAID has played a pivotal role in saving and improving lives around the world through its R&D programs. With its strong in-country presence, relationships with government and community leaders, and extensive knowledge of local context and development constraints, USAID is uniquely qualified to advance interventions that are affordable, accessible, scalable, and responsive to the needs of affected communities worldwide.What’s included: The strategy outlines a mission, vision, four objectives, 16 key actions, four approaches, and four principles that will guide its R&D work. View the slide deck below to get a summary overview.Our take: GHTC applauds USAID for developing this comprehensive strategy and for its inclusive design approach, which considered the input of a broad spectrum of US and global stakeholders. We are pleased to see this renewed commitment to R&D and the strategy’s increased emphasis on local leadership; inclusive innovation; and meeting the needs of women, children, and other vulnerable populations.

Malaria is one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases. Thanks to international efforts to develop and scale up prevention tools and treatments, significant gains have been made over the past few decades in fighting this dangerous disease. But challenges, such as growing drug and insecticide resistance and disruptions from COVID-19, have hampered control efforts. In 2021, there were 247 million malaria cases as cases have continued to rise between 2020 and 2021—indicating progress against the disease has stalled and underscoring the need for continued research and development of new tools.In recognition of World Malaria Day, test your knowledge of this deadly disease and the innovations being advanced to end malaria:

The ability of women to choose whether, when, and how many children to have is essential to advancing the health and well-being of women and their families. In fact, research shows that expanding global access to contraception could reduce maternal deaths by nearly one-third and child deaths by one-quarter. Yet today, 218 million women in low- and middle-income countries have an unmet need for modern contraceptives. New contraceptive innovations are urgently needed to help close this contraceptive gap, including tools that are suitable and convenient for women who live far from health care settings and multipurpose products that combine contraception with HIV prevention. In recognition of World Contraception Day, GHTC is testing our readers’ knowledge of the history of contraceptive innovation. Your challenge for each question below: Name that contraceptive method.