Scott Filler | The Global Fund

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July 13, 2015

Global Fund provides $17M For HIV Programs

Even with all the support and money allocated to the fight against Malaria, AIDS, and Tuberculosis, The Global Fund is taking no chances and continuing to fight the deadly viruses which affect Africa and other Eastern countries. The Global Fund is going to allocate the $17 million to two organizations which are focused on the prevention and care for HIV/AIDS.

The first organization which will be receiving a budget of $11.4 million US dollars is, Key Populations – Representation, Evidence and Attitude Change for Health Impact’ (KP REACH). KP REACH will be focusing on countries which are most affected by HIV: South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, and Malawi.

The second organization to receive funding is The Kenya AIDS NGO Consortium (KANCO). The organization will be funded $5.5 million US dollars to help with research to help curb the HIV rise. 

With drug usage a major concern, and the sharing of needles leading the epidemic. The money is expected to help the spread of dirty needles, as well as deter drug usage as a whole. This initiative is The Global Fund’s attempt to finally eradicate the deadly virus. As they look to fight off Malaria, HIV/AIDS is beginning to take a more prominent role in their eyes due to the numbers of lives being lost daily.

With the recent allocation, officials are hoping to get help from the states which are being given funds to truly take advantage and understand what is at hand.

For more Global Fund information, please visit Scott Filler’s Official website.

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.

March 27, 2015

$30 Million To Fight Malaria & TB

The entire globe is out on a mission, that mission is to wipe out two very deadly diseases. Australia has promised $30 million dollars to fight against Malaria and Tuberculosis. Roughly $10 million will be given immediately to support a late-stage treatment for Tuberculosis, and $10 million will also be given to help find tools to develop drugs to help fight Malaria. The other $10 million will be distributed accordingly depending on which area needs the extra funding. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop at AUSMIN meeting

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop explained the reason for funding the two diseases, “Drug resistant TB and malaria pose a threat to health security in our region and carry a high burden for our Asia-Pacific neighbours.” With the obvious concern of Malaria in developing countries in the Indo-Pacific area, Australia felt it was necessary to help out since the proximity of these nations and the potential harm it can cause if TB or Malaria makes it way to the island. Rather then take such a big risk, the best move for themselves and the world is to attempt to wipe out such deadly forces in the region. Australia has seen over 1,300 cases of TB since 2011 and the numbers of cases are slowly rising which is a major concern for the Australian government.

Every year roughly 1.2 million people die in the Indo-Pacific due to Tuberculosis, and these cases are spreading to developed countries and continents. The world is on high alert in hopes to fight and prevent the spread of these problems. The Global Fund is advocating for countries around the world to help fight since this is a global epidemic. Not only the problems of the few under developed countries.

For more updates on Malaria and 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.

 

January 26, 2015

Malaria Funding On Edge

2015 will play a pivotal role in Malaria funding for not only this year, but for many years to come. Lindsay Graham, senator of South Carolina and advocate in the fight against Malaria explains how the drop in funding by the United States and other countries in the world could cause for a Malaria epidemic in some countries.

 

Graham explained, “Look at the lives saved and the infrastructure that’s been developed in the last ten years, All of that’s at risk. You’ll be pulling back at a time when you’re just about to get over the finish line.” With the United States funding expected to decrease, the World Health Organization is concerned for what this could mean for the world in its fight against the deadly parasite. From 2000-2013 the World Health Organization noted the number of infections dropped from 173 million to 128 million. This number is significant since Graham believes we are on the cusp of getting over the disease and controlling its spread.

 

One of the biggest organizations funding the fight against Malaria is the Global Fund who is expected to increase funding, along with the US government to $701 million in 2015. The problem in the funding is coming from countries around the world who are cutting their expenses on fighting Malaria.

 

According to Scott Filler, The Global Fund’s senior disease coordinator for malaria stated, “Malaria is a very smart disease, Both the mosquitoes and the parasite itself really can thwart biologically what we try to do.” The Global Fund understands and is educating the world on how these bugs can adapt, and not continuing the fight them in attempts to wipe Malaria out completely.

 

The Global Fund has explained the drop in funding in such a manner, “if we are buying  ten mosquito nets, and you (other countries) need to buy only two nets, those countries are not meeting us and getting those two extra nets.” When it comes to a bigger picture, those two nets can essentially cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

Dr. Filler is hoping “the importance of emerging economies of India, Brazil and China to become Global Fund donors. Regional cooperation — neighbor helping neighbor — could become more common.” The Global Fund and the rest of the world can hope the funding for Malaria continues in hopes to eradicate the disease.

 

For more information on the topic, please visit: Devex.com for the full articles, and for more on the Global Fund, please visit ScottFiller.info

 

November 4, 2014

The Global Fund: New focus

In 2013 alone, 360,000 HIV positive people worldwide had passed away due to Tuberculosis (TB), a disease caused by HIV which is claimed to be preventable as well as curable. For this reason, The Global Fund has made it their mission after their funding conference on October 30, 2014. They have decided to push a new funding strategy to reduce those numbers since everyone at the Global Fund conference agreed that the rate of HIV positive deaths related to TB is way to high being there is a cure available as well as being preventable.

This new model of funding will be geared towards TB to educate the population and current HIV positive patients that there are steps and actions to TB prevention.english Attending this conference in Barcelona, Spain was, Global Fund Executive Director Mark Dybul was joined by South Africa’s Minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi, Blessi Kumar of the Global Coalition of TB Activists, USAID TB Senior Policy and Strategy Advisor Amy Bloom and UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. These administers focused on developed strategies for more engagement in the community and show the importance of prevention.

Also, a majority of the panel agreed with one another that in order to get people in and treated, they must be treated patients who are patient oriented, rather then disease oriented. The reason for this is because many patients are skeptical to go into these clinics and seek the treatment due to the treatment they are facing socially. These new treatment centers and plans are designed to have the environmental feel of a regular visit to a doctors office, not make the patient feel as if they are being quarantined.

The Global Fund is hoping these actions will start to eliminate the number of deaths a year due to these very treatable and curable diseases. Blessi Kumar, the TB activist stated at the conference, “It is smart to invest in community engagement for TB. This leads to better sustainable results. We also need a sense of urgency to eliminate TB.” Everyone understood the urgency to get rid of this disease and the best way to do that is to make sure everyone is aware and willing to seek treatment.

September 27, 2014

The Latest SlideShare from Scott Filler

August 21, 2014

A SlideShare from Scott Filler

July 24, 2014

Malaria Explained

In a recent article by, Medical News Today, the Malaria disease is explained. Malaria is a life threatening blood disease that is caused by a parasite that is transmitted by humans by the Anopheles mosquito. On the other hand, Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease. if Malaria is treated at an early stage within the disease, the duration of the disease can be significantly reduced, which in turn prevents complications and even death in the long run.

scottfiller_malariamedThe word “Malaria” comes from the 18th century word “mala” which means “bad” and “aria” which means “air.” It wasn’t until 1880 that scientists discovered that Malaria was a disease caused by a parasite which is transmitted by the anopheles mosquito. the mosquito infects the host with a one-cell parasite called plasmodium. By the end of the 18th century, scientists found out that Malaria is transmitted from person-to person through the bite of the female mosquito- which needs blood for her eggs. Approximately 40% of the global population is at risk for the Malaria disease. However, during the 20th century, the disease was effectively eliminated in the majority of non-tropical areas.

In many regions where, Malaria is common such as Africa, local people have some kind of immunity- this means many infected people have no symptoms at all or very few. The severity of the Malaria disease depends on a few factors such as the type of parasite the mosquito has infected the human with, the individual persons level of immunity, and whether or not the person still has their spleen. Some of the early stage symptoms of Malaria are a high body temperature or fever, chills, headache, sweats, tiredness, nausea, and vomiting.

Luckily, there are many treatment options for the Malaria disease. Ideally, the treatment for Malaria should take place as soon as symptoms are detected- within 24 hours. Patients with uncomplicated Malaria can be treated as outpatients while those with a sever case of Malaria need to be hospitalized. In some countries that are not the United States, anti-malaria medications may be presented as suppositories. Hopefully, one day Malaria can be cured in all countries it affects. For now, doctors and scientists and taking the steps they need in order to cure people of this disease.

June 25, 2014

Malaria Cases Reduced

Malaria, which is caused by a tiny parasite, is a seasonal disease that causes hundreds of thousands of deaths in the spring time. According to a recent article published by the New York Times, the reports of malaria this year were encouraging, meaning that infections caused by Malaria have been reduced and many lives have been saved. There was also good news in May that researchers that a potential malaria vaccine might be on the way. One would think that malaria would be dying down, however researchers in Thailand do not feel this way.

scottfiller_shotThe mosquitos that carry the malaria disease from person to person are adapting and therefore becoming resistant to the chemicals in the drugs used to prevent the disease from spreading. This causes scientists to be constantly formulating new drugs in order to save lives for malaria. The writer of the article, Francois Nosten, who is a professor of tropical medicine at the University of Oxford, writes about his time working at the Thai-Myanmar border for 30 years and remembering a time when him and his team believed that malaria was untreatable.The number of people with a particular parasite was declining but the drug that they were using was becoming less effective and more patients were dying.

However, it wasn’t long until they found an alternate drug, Artemisia from China that was proven to be very safe and was killing the malaria parasite very rapidly. Shortly after, studies confirmed the safety and effectiveness of the artemisia-based combination therapy or ACT for short. The new treatment method was deployed in refugee camps and the number of cases and deaths declined. There was evidence stating that the therapy worked but the World Health Organization was slow to adopt the treatment and suggest it for other countries, like Africa. This was due to the fact that after the 2000-2001 malaria epidemic, many people received ineffective drugs.

Today, the fight to end malaria is still in effect but is difficult due to money and politics. Nosten claims that “we have the science to defeat malaria, we just have to act before it defeats us.”

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