DNDi's interventions:
Agenda item 8: Road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030
Despite some progress, the fight against many NTDs remains off track, with a 66% rise in deaths from vector-borne NTDs since 2016. Women and children are disproportionately impacted by many NTDs and face double neglect because they remain underrepresented in R&D. Climate change is accelerating transmission of NTDs and expanding their geographic range.
We urge Member States and WHO to:
- Close the financing gap through new financing models, and integrate NTDs into health budgets and UHC packages;
- Finalize the R&D blueprint for NTDs;
- Promote inclusive research that addresses the specific medical needs of women and children; and
- Prioritize actions to address climate-sensitive diseases as outlined in the GAP on Climate Change and Health and the Belem Health Action Plan.
Agenda item 11: Health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
The world remains far off track on health-related SDGs. This is particularly evident for Target 3.3, with 1.5 billion people worldwide still impacted by NTDs. R&D gaps continue to undermine progress, and while advances in treatments for sleeping sickness, mycetoma, and leishmaniasis show what is possible, sustained investment in new, effective health tools is needed.
Urgent investment in paediatric formulations is also essential, as the specific needs of children are underprioritized. Partnerships are key to achieving SDG 3. DNDi and our partners have delivered life-saving tools, yet many pharmaceutical companies are withdrawing from infectious disease R&D, underscoring the need for inclusive, equitable partnerships across sectors to ensure continued progress. With only five years left to 2030, bold and coordinated action is urgently needed.
Agenda item 14: Draft updated global action plan on antimicrobial resistance
We have reached a tipping point in efforts to address AMR, with the number of AMR-related deaths expected to increase by 70% by 2050.
GARDP works with governments, the private sector, and academia to develop and accelerate access to new and existing antibiotics to treat drug-resistant infections. GARDP recently obtained US FDA approval for a first-in-class, single-dose oral antibiotic for the treatment of uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhoea.
We welcome recommendations in the GAP that encourage R&D for new treatments, tests, and vaccines. We also welcome a prominent focus on equitable access to testing and treatment. The GAP should also specifically address the needs of vulnerable groups, particularly children and infants as one in five AMR-related deaths occur in children under five, 99% of whom live in LMICs.
Agenda item 26: Economics of Health for all
Market-driven R&D cannot address the needs of many marginalized communities, leaving innovation gaps for diseases with little commercial return, such as NTDs.
Governments play a critical role in ensuring that public investments in health innovation deliver public value. DNDi supports directing innovation, particularly publicly funded innovation, towards public health priorities.
Conditions on public funding of innovation could help ensure the development of, and equitable access to, health technologies. We urge Member States to implement Article 9.5 of the Pandemic Agreement by establishing policies on conditions for publicly funded research. We also emphasize the need for policies that embed equity and affordability into the innovation process from the start, including in priority setting, partnership models, open science, pro-access licensing, and technology transfer arrangements.
