FORGING THE CHAIN

V
A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE:
WHO’S
PARTNERSHIPS
AND
COLLABORATION
Before 1999, there was a tragic lack of access to the
drugs needed for treating most NTDs. In most cases,
work on new drugs had stopped. An even greater concern
was that many pharmaceutical firms were threatening
to halt production of existing drugs because
disease-control activities were minimal and the market
for the medications was limited.
The relationship between drug companies, governments,
and NGOs was dramatically modified by the
“Pretoria lawsuit” on access to drugs for HIV – a trial
begun in 1998 and won by South Africa in April 2001.
Discussion during the trial about access to drugs and
the social responsibilities of pharmaceutical firms
opened a new era in the treatment of diseases afflicting
the poor.
Since then, for most NTDs, many partnerships and
collaborative agreements have been concluded.
Most drugs are now donated, and their availability is
guaranteed.
Many of the companies manage the donations
themselves. Others are funded by alliances and NGOs.
The particularity of these arrangements is that the
donations are made to WHO, and WHO is in charge
of distributing the medications.
In 2001, when the first five-year agreement was
signed by WHO and Sanofi (then known as Aventis) to
combat sleeping sickness, it reflected a long discussion
that had taken place the year before. The intent
was to find the best possible way to: ensure that WHO
could help countries better organize their control programmes;
enable WHO to ensure the best use of the
drugs against neglected diseases; and enable it to
coordinate control activities worldwide. A principle
was established whereby a cash contribution to WHO
was added to the in-kind donation of drugs. Sanofi
accepted this principle of supporting the WHO strategy,
and was followed by Bayer a few months later.
This original bilateral collaboration between WHO
and Sanofi has been renewed three times. It has also
been extended to other NTDs. The two partners will
mark 20 years of cooperation in 2020.
Along with supporting WHO strategies, pharmaceutical
firms are contributing to the development of
new drugs in collaboration with partners. They are
also ensuring the future availability of these drugs by
preparing upcoming donations to WHO.
These are long-term collaborations allowing
WHO to provide stability for other stakeholders and
enabling it to coordinate its disease-control programmes
with various partners. Thus, pharmaceutical
firms and NGOs are sharing and accompanying
the Organization’s efforts towards the elimination of
these diseases.
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