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GAVI Says Pentavalent Vaccine Price To Fall, But $3.7B Still Needed To Vaccinate Children In Developing Countries

November 29, 2010 Morning Briefing

The average price of a vaccine that protects children against five diseases is expected to “drop to $2.58 next year compared to the current average price of $2.97,” the GAVI Alliance said Friday, Reuters reports. The group credits the expected price decline, which “represents a decrease of 30 percent over the last seven years,” in part to an “increased demand for the pentavalent, or five-in-one vaccine,” according to the news service (Kelland, 11/26).

Financing HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment Could Cost $400B-$700B Over 20 Years

October 8, 2010 Morning Briefing

A new report published by the Results for Development Institute in the Lancet “has offered governments and donors a glimpse into the future of HIV epidemics

Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine Produces Better Immune Response Than Trivalent Vaccine, Study Says

October 26, 2010 Morning Briefing

The bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) was found to induce a “significantly higher immune response” than the existing trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV), according to a study published on Tuesday in the journal Lancet, Reuters reports (Kelland, 10/26).

Obama Administration Expected To Announce $4B Pledge To Global Fund

October 5, 2010 Morning Briefing

“The Obama administration is expected on Tuesday to announce a large increase in its pledge to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and to call for reform of the organization,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The pledge of $4 billion over the next three fiscal years to the Geneva-based organization comes as governments and donors around the world have slowed increases in spending to combat HIV/AIDS, with weaker economies straining budgets,” the newspaper adds (McKay, 10/5).

Dengue Fever Spreads In Asia, WHO Warns 2.5B People At Risk

October 7, 2010 Morning Briefing

The World Health Organization (WHO) “has warned that 2.5 billion people are at risk” of dengue fever, “which has ‘grown dramatically in recent decades,” Agence France-Presse reports. WHO officials cite higher temperatures, growing populations and international travel for the “rapid rise in urban mosquito populations” and rise in dengue. Seventy percent of the at-risk population is in Asia, the WHO said.

Donors Pledge Nearly $12B For Global Fund, Missing Lowest Funding Target

October 6, 2010 Morning Briefing

Donors at a replenishment meeting in New York on Tuesday pledged $11.7 billion over three years for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, “higher than past support but below the lowest target set by the agency in its efforts to combat disease in the developing world,” the Financial Times reports (Jack, 10/5).

Over $6B Pledged As CGI Annual Meeting Wraps Up

September 24, 2010 Morning Briefing

Donors made 291 commitments worth more than $6 billion at this year’s Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting, which wrapped up on Thursday, Reuters reports. “The value of [CGI] pledges for economic empowerment, education, environment, energy and health was $3 billion less than 2009, but the organization said that in previous years one or two big commitments represented a disproportionate share of the whole,” the news service writes. “Since 2005, nearly 2,000 commitments have been made valued at $63 billion” (Nichols, 9/23).

Hunger Costs Developing Nations $450B Per Year, Report Says

September 14, 2010 Morning Briefing

“Reduced worker productivity, poor health and lost education caused by malnourishment” is costing poor nations $450 billion a year, according to a report by the aid agency ActionAid, Agence France-Presse reports (9/13).

HHS Unveils $1.9B Strategy To Better Prepare For Biological Threats

August 20, 2010 Morning Briefing

“Acknowledging that the development of medical countermeasures against bioterrorism threats and pandemic flu is lagging, [U.S.] federal authorities Thursday announced a $1.9 billion makeover of the system for identifying and manufacturing drugs and vaccines for public-health emergencies,” Tribune Company/Seattle Times reports. “The overhaul includes manufacturing refinements aimed at shaving weeks off the time it takes to produce pandemic flu vaccine and a series of steps aimed at more quickly detecting promising scientific discoveries and getting them to market,” the news service writes (Zajac, 8/19).

Interim Haiti Recovery Commission Approves 29 Rehabilitation Projects For Haiti Worth $1.6B

August 20, 2010 Morning Briefing

The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), led by Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and former President Bill Clinton, recently announced more than $1.6 billion in projects to rebuild Haiti, “including a $200 million plan to create 50,000 new jobs in agriculture,” Reuters reports.

Sen. Appropriations Committee Approves $54.1B FY2011 Foreign Ops Spending Bill, Including $8.2B For Global Health Programs

July 30, 2010 Morning Briefing

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a $54.1 billion FY 2011 spending bill for the State Department and related agencies “that includes potentially controversial abortion language,” CQ reports.