Unitaid

Hepatitis C is curable. So why are so many people still acquiring the infection?

Nearly one million new infections occur every year. People who inject drugs can face significant barriers to prevention, testing and treatment, including stigma, discrimination and limited access to clean injecting equipment.

Unitaid is investing an additional US$7.8 million in three projects expanding hepatitis C prevention and care across ten low- and middle-income countries.

We spoke to Unitaid Technical Manager Karin Timmermans about what the research is showing, why community involvement matters, and what needs to happen to help more people access the prevention and treatment they need.

Read the full interview to learn more about the work towards hepatitis C elimination.

Read the interview: https://ow.ly/6Yv95101GiW

Preparing for access to new Ebola tools starts before they’re approved.

Promising new diagnostics and treatments for Bundibugyo Ebola are still being evaluated. Unitaid’s investment package of up to US$3.4 million supports countries in preparing for their potential introduction, should they prove safe and effective.

Building on existing partnerships with Africa CDC, WHO, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), PATH and The Aurum Institute, the work includes validating diagnostic tools, planning for access and addressing barriers to introducing new products quickly and equitably.

Because preparing for access is an important part of strengthening outbreak response.

Read more: https://ow.ly/CG7g5101fK2

AI could close the global health gap. Or widen it.

Artificial intelligence is transforming healthcare, from detecting tuberculosis where radiologists are unavailable to accelerating the development of new medicines.

But innovation alone doesn’t guarantee access.

What happens when an tool works for some populations but not others? When countries can’t afford the technology? Or when a diagnosis is made, but the care someone needs remains out of reach?

In our new publication, Reimagining access: Harnessing artificial intelligence for equity in global health, we explore why equitable access must be built into AI from the start, not addressed as an afterthought.

Drawing on Unitaid’s experience making more than 150 health innovations accessible, we examine how AI can help overcome barriers to healthcare, why responsible implementation matters, and how affordability, representative evidence and sustainable access must shape the way forward.

is opening up new possibilities for global health. The challenge is making sure those possibilities translate into equitable access to healthcare.

Read more: https://ow.ly/X5uI51001bM

How can long-acting HIV prevention reach more people?

In Tshwane, South Africa, a Unitaid delegation visited Maria Rantho Community Health Centre and a mobile clinic serving a local hotspot area to learn how HIV prevention services can better reach communities.

The visit was part of Wits RHI's LEN4PrEP study, which is exploring how long-acting lenacapavir PrEP can be integrated into routine health services, generating evidence to inform its introduction and scale-up in different settings.

By learning from healthcare providers, study teams and community-based services, the study is helping build understanding of what it takes to make new HIV prevention options accessible to the people who need them.

Some infections go unnoticed. Their impact can last a lifetime.

“It is a silent disease,” says Janet Ginnard, Director of Strategy at Unitaid. “Women often do not know they are infected. By the time complications emerge, years may have passed.”

HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and Chagas disease can all pass from mother to baby, with potentially serious consequences. But timely testing, treatment and care can help prevent many of these infections from passing on.

Through SAFEStart+, a four-year, US$22 million Unitaid-funded initiative led by PATH, the International Community of Women Living with HIV Eastern Africa (ICWEA) and the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA), partners are working to make testing and care for multiple infections more accessible during pregnancy.

Because every woman deserves access to the right care, and every baby deserves the chance to thrive.

Read more below:

The next pandemic won’t wait. Are we ready?
Preparedness starts long before an emergency hits. It means having the right tools, resilient supply chains and the ability to get lifesaving innovations to the people who need them.

The Republic of Korea is backing Unitaid with US$13 million in 2026 to strengthen pandemic preparedness and expand access to health innovations in low- and middle-income countries.

From strengthening regional manufacturing to expanding diagnostic systems and preparing for new treatments, this investment helps countries prepare for future threats while responding to urgent health needs today, including the Bundibugyo Ebola response.

A partner since 2008, the Republic of Korea has contributed US$145 million to Unitaid.

Because when the next health emergency comes, the world cannot afford to start preparing.

Preeclampsia can become life-threatening quickly. But getting the right care in time is not a given for every woman.

Preeclampsia survivor and advocate Koiwah Koi-Larbi, Executive Director of Action on Preeclampsia Ghana, knows first-hand the devastating impact this condition can have.

Limited access to antenatal care, missed warning signs and shortages of essential medicines and trained health workers can mean women don't receive the diagnosis and treatment they urgently need.

A new World Health Organization (WHO) global roadmap aims to accelerate action on preeclampsia, bringing partners together to improve prevention, diagnosis and care.

We know how to prevent many deaths and complications caused by preeclampsia. The challenge is ensuring these solutions reach every woman who needs them, wherever she lives.

“We survived for different reasons. One of us because oxygen was guaranteed, the other because crowdfunding intervened.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Louis in Portugal and Maurine in Kenya both needed medical oxygen. But their experiences accessing this life-saving treatment were very different.

While Louis received continuous oxygen treatment, Maurine faced uncertainty over whether she could afford to continue hers. Friends and colleagues stepped in to raise the money she needed.

Their stories expose a fundamental inequity: access to life-saving care can depend on where you live and what you can afford.

Medical oxygen is essential healthcare, not a luxury.

Read the full story here: https://ow.ly/gByL50ZXZVa

Could a more expensive medicine actually cost health systems less?

Heat-stable carbetocin costs more per dose than oxytocin, which is widely used to prevent postpartum hemorrhage, or severe bleeding after childbirth.

Yet research from Uganda estimates that heat-stable carbetocin could prevent nearly one-third more cases of postpartum hemorrhage than oxytocin, potentially saving US$1 million in direct public health system costs.

Preventing severe bleeding can also reduce the need for emergency referrals, blood transfusions and surgery, easing pressure on already stretched health services.

Investing in preventing complications can save lives while helping health systems make better use of limited resources.

Find out more: https://ow.ly/fVJe50ZXYw4

Could pooled testing cut the cost of TB diagnosis by 50%?

Millions of people with tuberculosis (TB) go undiagnosed. Making testing more affordable could help change that.

Unitaid shaped and funded research with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and partners exploring how combining samples from up to four people in a single test could reduce costs and expand access to TB diagnosis.

On BBC Sounds, Claudia Hammond is joined by Mbuli Cyrille from Cameroon’s National Tuberculosis Control Program and Dr Tom Wingfield of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to discuss the potential of this approach.

Listen from around 12 minutes in: https://ow.ly/krLr50ZXXnO