Press Releases |
 OTHER PRESS RELEASES |
Tuesday, 6 April 2004 |
 |
|
 |
 |
New Agreements Aim to Make Lowest-Priced AIDS Drugs and Diagnostics Available to Hundreds of Thousands of Patients Throughout the Developing World
Global Fund, World Bank and UNICEF join with the Clinton Foundation to extend deep price reductions under Clinton-brokered agreements
Geneva, New York, Washington -- The Global Fund
to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Bank, UNICEF
and the Clinton Foundation today announced agreements that will
make it possible for developing countries to purchase high-quality
AIDS medicines and diagnostics at the lowest available prices, in
many cases for more than fifty percent less than is currently available.
Today’s agreements will pave the way for countries supported
by the Global Fund, the World Bank and UNICEF to gain access to
drug and diagnostic prices negotiated by the Clinton Foundation.
As provided for under the Clinton Foundation agreements with its
suppliers, beneficiaries of Global Fund and World Bank grants who
are interested in accessing these agreements should contact the
Clinton Foundation to initiate the process. Countries will be required
to provide guarantees of payment, to conduct long term tenders and
to ensure the security of drug distribution. The Global Fund, World
Bank and UNICEF will support their funding recipients in complying
with these terms, as consistent with their policies and existing
practices.
The Global Fund and the World Bank are among the world’s largest
sources of funding commitments to AIDS treatment. The Global Fund
focuses more than 60 percent of the $2.1 billion committed for two
years to 122 countries to the fight against AIDS. The World Bank
has currently committed $1.6 billion to fight AIDS through the Multi-country
HIV/AIDS Programs (MAP) and other AIDS operations, including grants
for the poorest countries. UNICEF spent $111 million during 2003
in the fight against AIDS and is rapidly accelerating the procurement
of antiretroviral medicines (ARVs) and AIDS diagnostic equipment
and tests for developing countries.
The prices have been negotiated by the Clinton Foundation with five
manufacturers of ARVs and five manufacturers of HIV/AIDS diagnostic
tests. These prices were announced originally in October 2003 and
January 2004, and to date they have been available to the 16 countries
in the Caribbean and Africa where the Clinton Foundation’s
HIV/AIDS Initiative is active.
The drugs in these agreements include individual formulations and
two- and three-drug fixed dose combinations which have been pre-qualified
by the World Health Organization to assure quality and efficacy.
These medicines are critical components of the four regimens recommended
by the World Health Organization as “first line” treatment
for AIDS in its 3x5 initiative. In developing countries outside
of Brazil, such life-sustaining therapy is available to fewer than
200,000 people living with the virus, though almost six million
require it. Recent commitments of financial support for treatment,
along with these lower prices for drugs and tests, can expand this
coverage significantly.
The pharmaceutical manufacturers included in these agreements are
Aspen Pharmacare Holdings in South Africa; Cipla in India; Hetero
Drugs Limited in India, Ranbaxy Laboratories in India; and Matrix
Laboratories in India. The price for the most common first line
formulation under these agreements is as low as $140 per person
per year, one-third to one-half of the lowest price otherwise available
in most settings.
The diagnostic tests included in these agreements are offered by
five leading medical technology companies and include CD4 tests
from Beckman Coulter, Inc. and BD (Becton Dickinson and Company)
and viral load tests from Bayer Diagnostics, bioMérieux and
Roche Diagnostics. The prices available for these tests under the
agreement include machines, training, reagents and maintenance and
are up to 80% cheaper than otherwise available in the market.
Speaking about these agreements, former U.S. President William J.
Clinton said, “I am grateful for this collective effort, which
will soon help many hundreds of thousands of people, and eventually
millions of people, live longer, healthier lives. With these agreements,
we are one step closer to making sure future generations can live
without the scourge of AIDS. We are hopeful that developing countries
and those who support them in the fight against AIDS will take full
advantage of this agreement and act quickly to do all they can to
help in this fight."
Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund, affirmed
that, “Access to HIV treatment for all who need it is a moral
imperative and now the target of growing financial commitments.
Today’s agreements build on sound science, agreed policy and
market economics to maximize the reach of those commitments. As
a result, hundreds of thousands of additional people will receive
the drugs they need to stay alive and remain healthy.”
According to the agreements announced today, the governments and
NGOs supported by Global Fund, World Bank and UNICEF policies will
be able to use the resources of these organizations to procure drugs
and tests available under the Clinton Foundation arrangements. These
agreements are consistent with existing policies of all three international
organizations.
World Bank President James Wolfensohn said of today’s announcement,
“We regard AIDS as being the single most important issue at
the moment in Africa because of the devastating effect that it has
had throughout the Continent, and it is not something that is deferrable
to discussions of economic or other issues. The emerging epidemic
in Asia, Europe and Central Asia and the Caribbean is also a tremendous
concern. This initiative will help to get treatment to those most
in need - the world's poorest people. The World Bank is pleased
to be a partner in the program and fully supports it.”
The Executive Director of UNICEF, Carol Bellamy, added, “This
new partnership works to break down some of the barriers - - such
as price, supply and demand - - that are impeding access to life-saving
AIDS medicines and diagnostics in developing countries. UNICEF is
very proud to be part of this creative initiative that promises
to save lives and bring hope to millions of children and families
around the world.”
The Clinton Foundation, Global Fund, World Bank and UNICEF are committed
to exploring additional forms of cooperation to expand treatment
access.
The Global Fund is a unique and independent global public-private
partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources
to prevent and treat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership
between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected
communities represents a new approach to international health financing.
The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral
and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing
with the three diseases.
In 2003 the World Bank provided $18.5 billion and worked in more
than 100 developing countries, bringing finance and/or technical
expertise toward helping them reduce poverty. In addition to financial
assistance, the Bank is also a major provider of implementation
support for HIV/AIDS programs through direct provision of expertise
(especially fiduciary), dissemination of good practice and lessons
learned, and sponsorship of country-to-country learning. The World
Bank is also working with all major stakeholders in scaling up antiretroviral
therapy and its recently issued technical guide, “HIV/AIDS
Medicines and Related Supplies: Contemporary Context and Procurement”
sets out principles and advice to countries and has generated many
messages of support and appreciation from UN agencies, donors, policymakers,
and NGOs. For more on the Bank’s work in the area of HIV/AIDS,
visit: www.worldbank.org/aids
UNICEF works in 158 countries to ensure that all children survive
and thrive through adolescence. UNICEF’s efforts on the ground
emphasize immunization and micronutrients; the best start in life,
including safe water and sanitation, basic health and nutrition,
and loving interaction; education for all children; fighting HIV/AIDS
and caring for children orphaned by the disease; and a protective
environment that shields children from abuse, exploitation and violence.
UNICEF is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from governments,
foundations, businesses and individuals.
The Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative has been at work for
more than a year helping individual governments in Africa and the
Caribbean to develop scalable AIDS care, treatment and prevention
strategies. In the Caribbean, the Foundation is working with nine
countries and three territories which together have over 90% of
people living with AIDS in the Caribbean. In Africa, the Foundation
is working with Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania which
together have about 33% of all people living with AIDS in Africa.
The Foundation is also working to change the economics of HIV/AIDS
care and treatment. The first agreements it has brokered have dramatically
reduced the prices of ARVs and AIDS diagnostics.
For additional information, please contact:
Jim Palmer for the Global Fund (+1 202 262 9823)
Stevan Jackson for the World Bank (+1 202 458 5054; + 202 437-6295)
Liza Barrie for UNICEF (+1 212 326 7593; +1 646 207 5178)
Joe Cashion for the Clinton Foundation (+1 917 822 0407; +1 212 348 0276; +1 617 774 0110)
