💉 African nations to buy African vaccines; Abu Dhabi goes into overdrive; Bird flu in the news again

#520 | Kids are going hungry; Climate change is making hunger worse; 1.5°C looks unavoidable

Jun 07, 2024

Hello, and welcome back to The Kable for another exciting week of developments in the bird flu space, and other news of interest.

First up though, good news from South Africa where the drugs regulator says it didn't find any toxic substances in samples of the J&J cough syrup that was recalled across several African countries just a few weeks ago.

Africa continues to take tiny steps and giant leaps forward in its quest to attain health self-sufficiency. In the latest development, the Africa CDC partnered with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) to promote manufacturing opportunities for Korean African public-private partnerships on the continent.

Brazil can't seem to catch a break this year. Already dealing with a relentless dengue outbreak, the country witnessed floods across its southern region and now waterborne diseases are looking to thrive in the aftermath. Oh, and those floods? Made twice as likely by climate change.

In India, it is the heat that is proving to be fatal with official numbers reporting 25,000 cases and at least 56 deaths in the March to May period.

Abu Dhabi's health ministry had an extremely busy week of it. Participating at the BIO 2024 biotech convention, the agency signed a partnership with Pfizer to tackle sickle cell disease, a partnership with Eli Lilly for neurodegenerative disease care, a partnership with Takeda to advance research in rare diseases and oncology, a partnership with MSD to advance clinical research on lung cancer, a partnership with Opus Genetics to boost gene therapy for retinal diseases, and a partnership with AstraZeneca to set up a new centre of excellence for rare diseases. Phew!

In good news on the climate front, the WMO says the El Niño weather pattern is likely to swing back into La Niña mode later this year, bringing with a respite from the record heat of recent times.

And finally, speaking of record heat, May 2024 was the hottest May ever on record, making it an even 12 months of record-shattering heat. La Niña can't come any sooner, can it?

Stories Of The Week

Pandemics please pass us by. So the World Health Assembly (WHA77) concluded last week and as expected, a new pandemic pact has not been agreed upon yet. Thankfully, delegates have agreed to continue deliberations to conclude a treaty by 2025. The good news is that a number of amendments to modify the International Health Regulations (IHR) were agreed upon at WHA77. Most importantly, the amendments include the definition of a "pandemic emergency", a definition intended to trigger more effective international collaboration in response to a disease outbreak that may become a pandemic. However, compliance is conspicuously absent in the amendments. But we're sure that won't be a problem if and when there is another pandemic, right?
(WHO)

Buy from Africa. The year before last, South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare signed a deal to white label and make J&J's Covid vaccine in South Africa. The news was met with resounding applause which withered down to deafening silence when Aspen shut down production, not being able to sell even a single dose. That failure highlighted a unique problem for African manufacturing: the lack of initiative for local purchasing on the continent. But that is now set to change. At a meeting hosted by the Africa CDC on the sidelines of WHA77, health ministers from over 40 countries agreed to buy vaccines made in Africa, a huge boost to the AU's stated aim of ensuring local manufacturing of 60% of vaccines needed on the continent by 2040.
(Africa CDC)

Who should be scared of climate change? If you aren't a child, a pregnant woman or an older person, you can leave worries about climate change to the wind. A series of papers, co-authored by WHO experts and published in the Journal of Global Health, documented the health impact of escalating climate change at different stages of life and turns out that the needs of the groups mentioned above aren't adequately covered by the collective global response. Colour us surprised!
(WHO)

You know what time it is. You are right. It is bird flu time. For the third week in a row, we are including bird flu here because once again, there is a lot of information to unpack. First up, the WHO reported that a man in Mexico died from bird flu, from the H5N2 strain which has never before been reported in humans. In Australia, it is the H7 strain that is infecting poultry farm after poultry farm after poultry farm. In the US, cows with bird flu have died in five different US states while the bovine outbreak of bird flu has spread to 11 states. Mice living near these dairy farms with bird flu-infected cows have also tested positive for bird flu. Scientists are reportedly testing mRNA vaccines to protect cows and people from bird flu. "The USDA’s strategy against bird flu in dairy cattle is to identify infected herds and wait for the virus to die out within the herds." How reassuring!
(WHO, Reuters, Reuters, Reuters, Reuters, Reuters, BNO News, AP, Agriculture.com)

Agency Observer

Calling for innovations. CEPI, supported by the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, is inviting researchers to submit proposals for developing new vaccines against deadly haemorrhagic fever viruses like Ebola and Marburg, as well as other Filovirus pathogens. With a budget of €50 million over five and a half years, CEPI aims to fund three to five Filovirus vaccine projects. Researchers can apply by 4th August 2024. The goal is to create broadly protective vaccines by combining existing single-strain vaccines or designing cross-protective antigens, targeting regions prone to Filovirus outbreaks. The project also seeks to develop and test a variety of immunogens against multiple Filoviruses, aligning with CEPI’s 100 Days Mission to enhance rapid vaccine response.
(CEPI)

Breakthroughs

Harnessing nature using AI. An international research team has identified nearly a million potential sources of antibiotics in nature using machine learning. They discovered 863,498 promising antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that can combat infectious microbes. Their study, published in Cell, emphasises the urgency of finding new antibiotics due to rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which currently causes 1.27 million deaths annually and could result in up to 10 million deaths per year by 2050. Their comprehensive database, AMPSphere, is now available as an open-access resource to aid in new antibiotic discovery.
(Cell)

Bottom line

The kids aren't alright. A new UNICEF report reveals that around 181 million children under five, or 1 in 4 globally, are suffering from severe food poverty, making them up to 50% more likely to experience wasting, a dangerous form of malnutrition. For the first time, the report analyses the causes and impacts of dietary deprivation among young children in nearly 100 countries, highlighting that millions lack access to a diverse and nutritious diet essential for growth and development. Most of these children are fed only breastmilk or starchy staples, with minimal fruits, vegetables, or nutrient-dense foods. The report underscores the devastating effects of socio-economic disparities, conflicts, and the climate crisis on food security, with 65% of affected children living in just 20 countries. In regions like South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, millions of children face dire conditions, with areas like Somalia and the Gaza Strip showing particularly alarming rates of severe food poverty. The report calls for urgent action to improve food systems, affordability, and feeding practices to protect the most vulnerable children from life-threatening malnutrition. An unrelated-but-related report from Save The Children says the number of children suffering from severe hunger in countries hit hardest by extreme weather has more than doubled in the past five years, with a 20% increase in 2023 alone. Their analysis revealed that over 33 million children and 39 million adults now face crisis levels of hunger in 18 countries where droughts, cyclones, and floods have devastated food supplies.
(UNICEF, Save The Children)

Heat? What heat? Just switch the AC on. New climate data reveals record high land and sea temperatures for May and the past year, highlighting the urgent threat of global warming. There’s an 80% chance the world will temporarily exceed the 1.5°C limit set by the Paris Agreement within the next five years. Current emission rates suggest this limit could be permanently breached before 2030. The UN Secretary-General emphasised the critical need to reduce emissions by 9% annually until 2030 to avoid catastrophic climate impacts, such as sea level rise, coral reef destruction, and widespread permafrost melt. Despite these dire warnings, global emissions continue to rise, driven by fossil fuel industries profiting from taxpayer-funded subsidies. The Secretary-General called for a significant shift in financial priorities, urging investments in clean energy, especially in developing countries, to combat climate change and support sustainable development. He also appealed for an end to fossil fuel advertising and greater public and political action to ensure a livable future for all. Fossil fuel companies, meanwhile, are still celebrating record profits from last year.
(WMO, UN)

Long reads

Removing gender bias from eye health. Good eye health is crucial for everyone, yet women often face unique challenges in accessing essential eye care services due to pervasive disparities. These barriers are rooted in societal norms, economic constraints, and healthcare access issues, leaving women disproportionately affected by vision impairment. Understanding these challenges is vital to promoting gender equity in eye health. This piece on the WEF blog talks about the urgent need for targeted interventions and strategies to ensure women receive the eye care they deserve.
(WEF)

Oh, and Gopal Nair doesn't want you to see this.