10 Big Ones for Vaccines

That Africa and much of the developing world suffers from the triple scourges of HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria is not anything new to anyone. Everyday many people die from these diseases, with youngsters and children being disproportionately affected by these diseases. African countries - particularly those in Southern and Eastern Africa - continue to lose hundreds of thousands of able bodied citizens and suffer great economic setbacks due to the effects of these triplet agents of death.

These diseases have become more challenging to fight due to inadequate investments in vaccine technology and drugs. Though Malaria is one of the biggest killers of children in the world, it attracts some of the lowest amount of research dollars. Cancer, a very potent "taker of lives" alongside the three scourges mentioned above, attracts many multiples of the research funds being put into combating malaria, HIV and TB. And the rationale for this situation is simple: cancer's victims are overwhelmingly richer than Malaria sufferers hence making them a lucrative market.

It is a simple fact that the people most afflicted with Tuberculosis, HIV and Malaria are some of the people least able to pay for the required treatments. Drug companies are the main funders of pharmaceutical research worldwide and like any other company, they are primarily - and justifiably - focused on maximising returns and value for their shareholders. To expect them to act otherwise is to encourage them to act in a manner detrimental to their shareholders. Since affluent people are the most lucrative patients, it makes perfect sense for drug companies to concentrate their scarce resources on those most able to afford treatments and provide a clear path for the recouping of invested monies. Hence, the reason why these diseases have been underinvested in, because quite frankly the mass of patients that can afford to pay top dollar does not exist to make multi-billion dollar investments in malaria research pay off.

This is one of the situations in which market systems, which have worked so well to ensure human progress, falls short. A pure markets approach to drug development will ensure that vaccines and drugs for deadly diseases that afflict the world's poorest remain in rudimentary (and largely non-effective) forms, while we continue to make rapid progress in treating acne and developing Botox treatments for fighting wrinkles and ensuring that 70 year old ladies can keep on looking like they are still 35. (Not that I have anything against looking young!!). It is however clear that for the human race to rise up to the challenge of stemming pandemics and rescuing millions from the jaws of death, governments, NGOs, foundations and multi-billionaires must work to subsidize research into life saving applications that address the scourges facing the poor. It does not make economic sense for the drug companies to wholly bear the risk of development and that is why the civil society must subsidize research and make it economically feasible for pharmaceutical companies to deliver much needed treatment for the poor. This is particularly important for vaccine development because just a few drops of vaccines have the near magical potential of preventing or drastically reducing the odds of a lifetime of medication, pain and - to the delight of ardent capitalists - many days of paid sick leave. Imagine if every child was immunized against malaria?, that would be many millions of tablets of quinine saved.

That is why I was so glad to read that the uber-rich guy: Bill Gates had declared that this decade should be the decade of vaccines. And he went ahead (in a way only deep pocked billionaires like himself can) to put his money where his mouth is by announcing a pledge by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to commit to financing vaccine development to the tune of US$10 Billion over the next ten years. Although details of this plan are still sketchy, many expect that the foundation will concentrate on funding the basic Research and development that will go into ensuring that vaccines for diseases such as Malaria, HIV and TB can be developed and delivered to people who need it the most. I envisage that the foundation will invest - by way of grants - in projects that have a lot of technical and social promise but which may be too financially risky for the drug companies to take up. This knowledge and/or intellectual property can then be freely licensed to various drug companies that may seek to commercialise such breakthroughs. This strategy is one that is likely to work in the future as many civil society groups and philanthropists work hand in hand with profit-motivated groups such as drug companies to tackle the challenges facing the world.

Mr. Gates and his wife are also continuing in that time tested American tradition of the benevolent billionaire seeking to enact positive social change and development through the sheer force and will of his chequebook!. The famous American Steel magnate: Andrew Carnegie who was fond of saying that "the man who dies rich dies disgraced”. Many generations of billionaires including Carnegie himself, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Lord Sainsbury etc have all worked to bring their considerable fortunes to bear in solving societal challenges and have funded public retirement schemes, universities, scholarships, hospitals etc. It is high time those fortunate enough to be billionaires in our country apply some of their personal wealth, fortunes and innate creativity into meeting the developmental and social challenges facing our country: Nigeria. I would love to live to see the day when one of our own billionaires would also give 10 big ones up for supporting vaccines, primary healthcare delivery, early childhood education or whatever social cause catches his/her fancy. Now, that will be worth writing about!