💉 The WHO says yes to two pricks a year for HIV; Never mind the naysayers, emergency vaccines work; ADB wants to end TB
#570 | Immunisation on the rise, and wane; Meeting SDGs was never on the agenda; SA gets funding for PrEP, or does it?
Hello, and welcome back to The Kable for your favourite Friday round-up of all that's new and lots that's old in the life sciences.
This week saw people convening once again for the definitive biennial HIV/AIDS conference, this time in Rwanda. And as befits such a conference, there was a lot of news on the AIDS front, some of it even good and constructive. Like the WHO adding Gilead's once-in-six-months injection to global PrEP guidelines. Also at the conference came this statement from MSD that its once-monthly PrEP pill will begin Phase 3 trials next month.
At the same conference, GSK-owned ViiV and Medicines Patent Pool expanded their deal to allow generic production of the drugmaker's long-acting injectable HIV treatment cabotegravir. The updated agreement allows the three existing licensees - Aurobindo, Cipla and Viatris - to develop and supply the drug for use in combination with Johnson & Johnson's rilpivirine in 133 countries, including all low-income, lower-middle income, and Sub-Saharan African nations.
There was a flurry of other announcements too this week from the WHO, including prequalification of a triple diagnostic test for HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis, new guidance on disclosure of HIV for children and adolescents, learnings from countries that integrated mediations for HIV, hepatitis and STIs with primary health care, and advice that people with HIV and mpox should begin treatment soonest.
In Africa, the mpox outbreak continues undeterred, with Mozambique being the latest country to report new cases. In a little bit of teeny-tiny good news, cases in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the original epicentre of this outbreak, continued to fall. But DRC is now reporting an increasing number of cholera cases.
African swine fever continues to spread in Vietnam, and the country now wants you to be prepared for interruptions in food supply.
Another week, another Indian drugmaker facing censure from the US FDA. This time, it is Sun Pharma with a plant that has repeatedly run afoul of the agency. Fun pharma.
And finally, Gavi presents a study, which ties in with your top story this week, about how emergency vaccines have reduced fatalities during disease outbreaks by 60%.
Before we dive into the stories of the week…
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Stories Of The Week
Vaccines vs disinformation. The WHO and UNICEF released national immunisation coverage data this week, which showed that 2024 held steady when it comes to global childhood immunisation, with 85% of infants receiving the benchmark DTP3 vaccine. However, this "progress" didn't do enough to mask widening cracks. Nearly 20 million children missed at least one dose, and 14.3 million received none at all. Measles cases surged to their highest since 2019, exposing deep immunity gaps fuelled by conflict (understandable), weak health systems (fixable), and rising vaccine hesitancy in both fragile and high-income settings (fish RFK). While some countries rebounded post-pandemic, especially in Africa, others stalled or slipped. Funding cuts, particularly from the US, threaten even these fragile gains, even as Gavi’s new $9 billion replenishment brings a glimmer of hope.
(UNICEF)
Donors vs dengue. As grant funding dries up and disease rates surge, the Asian Development Bank is pitching a new solution: ExCITD, a regional financing platform aimed at ending malaria, TB, and dengue across the Asia-Pacific. The model trades old-school aid for a cocktail of concessional loans, domestic spending, and “catalytic capital” to attract 10–20 times more investment. ADB isn’t pretending to be a donor, but it is betting big that bundling diseases into investment-grade projects might finally shift the needle. With climate change raising the stakes and US funding in continued freefall, the region’s path to disease elimination may now hinge less on generosity and more on leverage.
(Devex)
SDGs vs the real world. Despite real wins like 110 million kids entering school and a five-year boost in life expectancy pre-pandemic, the UN’s 2024 SDG report is clear: we’re way off course. Only 18% of Sustainable Development Goals are on track for 2030. Half are crawling, and nearly one in five have gone backwards. A $4 trillion shortfall, rising conflicts, and donor fatigue are dragging global ambitions into a ditch. The data systems are finally in place, but the money, political will, and multilateral cooperation needed to deliver are, and have been for a while, missing in action. We aren't surprised, really. Neither is the UN because, as the UN Secretary-General said while releasing the report, "The problem is that the Sustainable Development Goals do not include the instruments that would be necessary to make them happen." They never did.
(UN)
Long reads
Round like a football. Athletes have long been some of the biggest hypocrites on the planet, endorsing all kinds of shit that they themselves would never use. Including sugary swill. Only behind athletes are the sporting organisations responsible for platforming manufacturers of this swill as sponsors. This piece in Health Policy Watch calls upon FIFA to divest itself from soda makers.
(Health Policy Watch)
Fly in the ointment. Fantastic reporting from Bhekisisa on how new funding received by South Africa for the newly-approved HIV PrEP jab may actually be a huge-ass needle in the flesh really.
(Bhekisisa)
All about immunisation. Following on from the release of global immunisation data, Gavi has a series of articles that paint a complete picture. On how children growing up without parents are 70% more likely not to have received a single vaccine, on the challenges in reaching zero-dose children, on how lower-income countries have excelled at routine immunisation, and 7 highlights from the state of global immunisation.
(Gavi, Gavi, Gavi, Gavi)
Oh, and Gopal Nair doesn't want you to see this.