Devex CheckUp: WHO chief scientist's 'never been more optimistic' about TB

Tuberculosis is an ancient disease that has killed presidents, kings, famed poets, and artists. Despite that, there remains no effective vaccine to protect adults from TB. The only licensed vaccine for TB is more than a century old and provides only moderate protection against severe forms of the disease in infants and young children. But the world shouldn’t lose hope. In fact, Jeremy Farrar, the chief scientist at the World Health Organization, tells Jenny that he’s “never been more optimistic” that in this decade, the world will have tools that will transform the response to the disease. For one, there’s the M72 vaccine candidate that has shown 50% efficacy in preventing pulmonary TB disease in phase 2b trials. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome this year announced $550 million to conduct phase 3 trials of the vaccine candidate in multiple countries. While the results of the trials won’t be available for a few years, Farrar thinks it will work and be safe, although it won’t be 100% effective. He said it can provide a huge amount of information about TB and inform the development of the next generation of vaccines. The world shouldn’t rely on just vaccines though. TB vaccines should always be used with other interventions, such as early testing and better treatments. “You must, I think, see it together rather than thinking we're going to have a magic bullet that will be the answer to everything,” he says. Read: WHO’s Jeremy Farrar says he is optimistic about tuberculosis. Here’s why +Devex Pro members can join us on Oct. 4 at 10 a.m. ET (4 p.m. CET) for an in-depth discussion on the future of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Haven’t gone Pro yet? Upgrade now or sign up for a free 15-day trial when registering for this event. TB … C Speaking of TB, world leaders stepped up their commitments to fight the disease. At a TB high-level meeting during the United Nations General Assembly last week, governments committed to mobilizing at least $22 billion a year by 2027 and $35 billion annually by 2030 for TB. They also committed to mobilize $5 billion a year by 2027 for TB research and innovation. But health advocates remain skeptical about whether they will follow through on their commitments, especially since they missed targets set at the last high-level meeting on TB in 2018. Less than half of the $13 billion they committed to raise by 2022 was made available and only half of the $2 billion they committed for annual TB research and development materialized. These failed promises have created a sense of uncertainty about the new declaration. In addition, the declaration has no clear targets or deadlines on issues such as ending stigma, which prevents people with TB from seeking care and starting treatment. “The challenge for every country is how they are going to and whether they will meet the ambitions that are actually set, or whether these targets frankly are simply numbers written on a piece of paper that nobody will adhere to,” British legislator Nick Herbert said during a panel right before the high-level meeting on Friday. “Do political leaders mean what they say when they say that this disease will be beaten in seven years’ time? Or are we going to find ourselves going up the escalator and down again and be back here in another [high-level meeting]?” he added. And the stakes are high. Maria Smilios, the author of a book on Black American nurses who risked their lives to care for TB patients, tweeted a reminder on World Lung Day — which was Monday — of the consequences of unaffordable, inaccessible drugs. Read: Tuberculosis gets some ambitious commitments. But will they be met? Facts vs. lies “One of my favorite sayings is that you should never wrestle with a pig because you both get dirty and the pig enjoys it.” --— Ben Phillips, director of communications, UNAIDS At this week’s Devex Pro roundtable event, Phillips said disinformation campaigns are so well organized and networked that responding to them requires more than “fact correction.” While the ideas may be “dumb,” the people behind disinformation campaigns aren’t, he said. Responding to the lies could just end up amplifying them, he added. Watch: Facts aren’t enough to fight disinformation, health leaders say Nonsense in the negotiations Negotiators in Geneva are drafting a treaty aimed at better protecting the world the next time a pandemic strikes. But will it? Experts are concerned the draft lacks a critical element — accountability. Instead, negotiators are looking to “punt that off, kick the can down the road. ... That's nonsense. You can't do that,” says Lawrence Gostin, director of WHO’s Collaborating Center on Global Health. The pandemic accord should have a completely independent committee that examines if countries are reporting against the treaty in a timely, accurate, and comprehensive way, says Nina Schwalbe, principal at Spark Street Advisors. This committee would have on-site investigational power to enter countries to examine outbreak threats. Otherwise, the treaty could simply become a piece of paper gathering dust. Read: Pandemic treaty draft lacks accountability ICYMI: Advocates say the UN pandemic meeting was a dud. What's next? One big number 25% --— That’s the increase in the number of countries that reported cholera outbreaks in 2022 over the last, according to recently released figures. And cases reported were more than double those in 2021. Cholera knows no borders and travels like a vagabond — at ease, with no passport. This year, the bacterium hopped on a bus from South Africa to Malawi, attended a funeral, and then crossed by bus over five countries. Last year, it’s likely it traveled by plane from Pakistan to Malawi. But maybe we humans could learn a thing or two from the cholera bacterium’s approach to a borderless world, write Tasimba Mhizha and Thomas Achombwom Vukugah in an opinion piece for Devex. Global health security requires a “One Health” approach with transparent communication, coordination, and unprecedented collaboration among partners working across human, animal, and environmental health. “Together, we must step off our own home turf and outside silos,” they write. Opinion: We all need to think a lot more like the cholera bacteria Related reads: • How Pakistan's massive floods sparked Malawi's record cholera outbreak • Cholera thrives in a warming world What we’re reading BioNTech is not moving forward with plans to build a vaccine manufacturing facility in South Africa. [Bloomberg] Bangladesh’s nomination of its prime minister’s daughter for WHO’s Southeast Asia regional director position raises transparency concerns. [Financial Times] South Africa launches “unprecedented” investigation of Johnson & Johnson over TB drug prices. [The Guardian]