G8 To Boost Funding For Vaccines
“At their upcoming meeting in April in Washington, DC, finance ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations are expected to approve an advanced market commitment (AMC) plan to provide between $800 million and $6 billion to subsidize the purchase of new vaccines for some of the world’s most prevalent infectious disease,” writes The Lancet (UK).
“Under the plan, wealthy nations will provide funding to pharmaceutical companies to allow production of safe and effective vaccines that can then be sold at reduced prices in developing countries. According to Amie Batson, Senior Health Specialist at the World Bank Human Development Network, the Bank and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization have been asked by the G8 to do the necessary analysis and convene experts and stakeholders to gather their recommendations on the AMC pilot and the choice of vaccine.
An independent expert committee met on Feb 26 – 27 to evaluate and prioritize the six candidate vaccine-preventable, or potentially preventable, diseases: HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, human papillomavirus, pneumooccus, and rotavirus. Batson adds, ‘The G8 and the rest of the development community are looking to AMCs to make significant inroads into preventing diseases that routinely kill millions of children and adults every year. We hope to hear an announcement on the inaugural vaccine choice in late April when the G8 finance ministers meet.’