How can the industrial world help to implement new vaccines against poverty-related diseases?

Abstract

Communicable diseases are both a consequence and a cause of poverty.The most disadvantaged in society are subject to more social risk factors for contracting infections such as HIV, TB and malaria. By destroying human capital, these diseases reduce the potential for economic growth and fuel a vicious cycle of poverty at the individual, national and regional level. Contrary to common belief, however, the majority of diseases affecting the developing countries can be effectively treated using existing medicines. The Essential Drugs List [1] from the World Health Organization (WHO) contains safe, effective treatments for the infectious and chronic diseases which affect the vast majority of the world’s population.The excessive mortality rate of many infectious diseases in developing countries is, therefore, mainly caused by limited access to drugs, unavailability of health services and failure to use prevention strategies [2]. The greatest successes in combating infectious diseases in tropical countries have all been vaccine-driven. Vaccination has resulted in the eradication of smallpox, the imminent eradication of polio, and a dramatic reduction in the prevalence of many other infectious diseases. Given the poor infrastructure and incomplete health-care systems in many developing countries, vaccines are, in fact, often the only pharmaceutical product that can make a substantial impact on public health. There are, however, still a number of major infectious diseases for which an effective vaccine does not exist. The number of people affected by, infected with and dying from HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria continues to rise, and these diseases continue to evade immunisation efforts. In 2003, almost 3 million people died of AIDS, and there were about 5 million new HIV infections [3]. TB kills about 2 million people every year [4], whilst malaria kills more than one million people annually. New vaccines to combat these poverty-related diseases (PRD) are therefore urgently needed. How can the industrial world help to implement new vaccines against poverty-related diseases?