Scott Filler | The Global Fund

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Tag: Disease

April 27, 2015

Global Fund – Progress

The fight to cure malaria has yielded some spectacular results this year, news which is welcomed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The results come from the phase three trial of RTS,S, a malaria vaccine candidate.

So far, RTS,S has shown a 54% reduction in cases of clinical malaria over the first year of follow-up and a 36% reduction in clinical malaria over a 48 month period among children vaccinated between 5-17 months old who received four doses of RTS,S. The five year trial involved 15,459 children and infants, and concluded in January. Overall, more than 1,700 cases of clinical malaria were averted per 1,000 children vaccinated across different trial sites on average.

Leaders of both Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund have voice their satisfaction upon hearing this results and hope that a vaccine like RTS,S can become the powerful and newest addition to the tools used to fight malaria. Yearly, malaria leads to the death of thousands of children across developing countries, in particular the sub-Saharan Africa region. The Global Fund has been one of many organizations that has mounted efforts to curb the rise of malaria.

Currently, RTS,S is being reviewed by the European Medicines Agency, which is expected to provide a scientific opinion later in the year. If the opinion of the European Medicines Agency is positive, that would give the green light for the World Health Organization to make recommendations on the use of RTS,S. Ultimately, this is the hope of the Global Fund and Gavi, who wish to add RTS,S to the current methods for combating malaria which include mosquito nets and indoor spraying.

For more news and updates on The Global Fund, please visit Scott Filler‘s official website.

February 23, 2015

The Global Fund ‘All In’ To End AIDS

With AIDS the leading cause of deaths for adolescents in Africa, The Global Fund is pushing to go ‘all in’ against the deadly virus which has been declining over the past few years. The main concern for The Global Fund and African adolescents is the fact that only one in four of adolescents with AIDS are able to receive adequate treatment. The biggest concern for officials is the alarming rate of girls being affected by AIDS. According to AllAfrica.com, “Adolescent girls, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, are most affected. In South Africa in 2013, more than 860 girls became infected with HIV every week, compared to 170 boys. HIV is the leading cause of death among adolescents in Africa and young women are most affected. This is a moral injustice. I am calling on young people to lead the All In movement, alongside the United Nations, public and private partners, and countries themselves, to end the adolescent AIDS epidemic.”

Together with UNICEF and UNAIDS, The Global Fund are beginning to focus their attention on adolescents who were affected 10-15 years ago. The problem with those affected back then is they are unaware of the fact they even posses the deadly virus and could be passing it along without even knowing. Even though reaching these now adults is extremely difficult since there is no tell all sign someone has AIDS, the three groups will work in conjunction with one another to prevent the spread of the virus. They are also now reaching out and explaining the importance of getting tested to the youth of Africa. Teaching them that getting tested is important and could potentially save lives is the way to educate the youth.

All parties fully understand that getting rid of AIDS completely is unreasonable and hope to slowly knock down the number of affected and deaths. Together, all hope to receive fundings to help with the cause. This is a world problem where any donation can help.

For more updates on The Global Fund, please visit Scott Filler‘s official website.