UN Chronicle | United Nations and Gates Foundation Announce $30-Million Effort to Combat Infectious Diseases

United Nations and Gates Foundation Announce $30-Million Effort to Combat Infectious Diseases
By Darrell Dela Rosa for the Chronicle

Web Article

In response to the urgent need for new methods to detect the world's deadliest diseases, the United Nations-backed Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have announced a new initiative, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND).

FIND will work, in collaboration with TDR, the diagnostics industry and other organizations, to apply the most current biotechnology innovations to develop and validate affordable diagnostic tests for infectious diseases in the developing world. The Gates Foundation has committed to donate up to $30 million over the next five years to fund the initiative.

TDR—established in 1975 and co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank—is an independent global programme of scientific collaboration that aims to help coordinate, support and influence worldwide efforts to combat major diseases of the poor and disadvantaged.

"The recent outbreak of SARS", according to TDR Director Dr. Carlos Morel, "illustrates the need for easy-to-use and accurate diagnostics to aid in the control of infectious disease. Great strides have been made in developing drugs and increasing patient access to good medicines, but diagnosis remains a stumbling block in public health. Public health needs can only be met through partnerships at all levels."

Building on the successes of the TDR Tuberculosis (TB) Diagnostics Initiative, FIND will initially focus on TB, accelerating the development and evaluation of new tests to detect the disease. Research conducted over the past two years indicates that although TB and other diseases of the developing world have been largely neglected by the bigger diagnostic corporations, considerable research is being done in small biotechnology companies. However, even when diagnostics are developed, they do not always reach the public sector. FIND will work with WHO, other agencies and the private industry to guarantee that tools in development correspond with public health needs.

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