Global Health Solutions Inc

AS A SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION, PROVIDE SUPPORT TO THE GLOBAL HEALTH INITIATIVES OF THE TASK FORCE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH,INC.

THE INTERNATIONAL TRACHOMA INITIATIVE (ITI) WORKS TIRELESSLY FOR A WORLD FREE FROM TRACHOMA, EVEN IN THE MIDST OF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC. ITI CONTRIBUTES TO THE ULTIMATE ELIMINATION OF TRACHOMA BY STEWARDING PFIZER'S DONATION OF ZITHROMAX(R) TO TREAT AND PREVENT THE CONDITION; BUILDING AND STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS TO ACCELERATE PROGRESS; AND DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE TOOLS TO SHARE DATA. BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 2020 TO AUGUST 2021, ITI ORGANIZED JUST-IN-TIME SHIPMENTS OF 47.4 MILLION TREATMENTS FOR TRACHOMA TO BE DISTRIBUTED AT MDAS IN 14 COUNTRIES. AS OF AUGUST 2021, ITI SHIPPED MORE THAN 953.2 MILLION TREATMENTS TO TRACHOMA ENDEMIC COUNTRIES SINCE 1999. ITI CONTINUED ITS DATA MANAGEMENT SUPPORT FOR TROPICAL DATA, A FREE MOBILE PHONE-BASED SERVICE TO SUPPORT TRACHOMA PROGRAMS AS THEY CONDUCT PREVALENCE SURVEYS, PROVIDING THEM WITH ROBUST DATA FOR DECISION MAKING ON WHERE ANTIBIOTIC TREATMENTS ARE NEEDED AND WHERE THEY CAN BE STOPPED. AS A KEY PLAYER IN THE GLOBAL TRACHOMA COMMUNITY, THERE HAVE BEEN TREMENDOUS ACHIEVEMENTS IN REDUCING THE POPULATION AT RISK OF BLINDNESS FROM TRACHOMA FROM AN ESTIMATED 1.2 BILLION PEOPLE IN 2000 TO 136.2 MILLION IN JUNE 2021 ACCORDING TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION'S (WHO) WEEKLY EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RECORD (WER). ITI WILL CONTINUE TO WORK SMARTER SO THAT THE DREAM OF A TRACHOMA FREE WORLD BECOMES A REALITY.

THE MECTIZAN DONATION PROGRAM: ALTHOUGH MASS TREATMENT WITH MECTIZAN WAS INTERRUPTED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC IN 2020 FROM APRIL TO SEPTEMBER, BY 2021 INTERVENTIONS HAD RESUMED WITH COVID-19 MITIGATION MEASURES IN PLACE. IN 2021, A TOTAL OF 364.4 MILLION TREATMENTS WERE APPROVED-A DECREASE FROM 2020 WHEN 416.8 MILLION TREATMENTS WERE APPROVED. THIS WAS DUE TO SEVERAL FACTORS, MOST OF WHICH ARE RELATED TO THE CANCELLATION OF TEN APPLICATIONS DUE TO THE SURPLUS INVENTORY OF MECTIZAN(R) THAT REMAINED AS A RESULT OF THE LOCKDOWN AND THE INTERRUPTIONS AND DELAYS TO MDA IN 2020. ANOTHER FACTOR WAS THE TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF MDA IN TWO COUNTRIES WHERE HIGH CUSTOMS CLEARANCE FEES PREVENTED SHIPMENTS OF DONATED MECTIZAN FROM REACHING THE NATIONAL PROGRAMS. WE INVITE GOVERNMENTS OF COUNTRIES WHERE HIGH CLEARANCE FEES ARE ASSESSED ON DONATED MEDICINES TO TAKE SPECIAL MEASURES TO ELIMINATE THESE IMPORT CHARGES TO AVOID LACK OF ACCESS TO VITAL, FREE MEDICINES. AN UNEXPECTED CHALLENGE AROSE AS MISINFORMATION SPREAD ABOUT THE USE OF IVERMECTIN AS AN ALLEGED CURE FOR COVID-19 PATIENTS. THIS RAISED THE RISK OF DIVERSION OF THE DONATED MECTIZAN TO UNAUTHORIZED USES. IN A HEARTENING DISPLAY OF RESILIENCE, COUNTRY PARTNERS AND SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS, THE MECTIZAN DONATION PROGRAM, THE MECTIZAN EXPERT COMMITTEE, AND MERCK & CO., INC TOOK DILIGENT MEASURES TO PROTECT MECTIZAN FOR ITS INTENDED USE: ELIMINATION OF RIVER BLINDNESS AND LF. WE ARE PARTICULARLY GRATEFUL TO OUR COLLEAGUES FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CONTROL OF NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES OF WHO HEADQUARTERS AND FROM WHO-AFRO'S EXPANDED SPECIAL PROGRAM TO ELIMINATE NTDS (ESPEN) FOR HOSTING TWO WEBINARS TO CLARIFY WHO POSITION AND SENSITIZE COUNTRIES ON GOOD USE OF MECTIZAN DONATED FOR THE ELIMINATION OF LF AND RIVER BLINDNESS. AS OF THE END OF 2021, CUMULATIVELY, NEARLY 4.8 BILLION MECTIZAN TREATMENTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE MECTIZAN DONATION PROGRAM, AND NEARLY 11 BILLION TABLETS HAVE BEEN SHIPPED TO ENDEMIC COUNTRIES BY MERCK SINCE THE DONATION WAS ANNOUNCED IN 1987. THESE NUMBERS ARE STAGGERING! EVEN MORE STAGGERING IS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO NO LONGER NEED TREATMENT WITH MECTIZAN AS TRANSMISSION OF THE DISEASES IS SUSPECTED TO HAVE BEEN INTERRUPTED. FOR RIVER BLINDNESS, THIS NUMBER IS 15.7 MILLION AND FOR LF THE NUMBER IS 191.8 MILLION. IT IS REMARKABLE TO SEE THESE NUMBERS INCREASE EACH YEAR AS COUNTRIES DOWNSCALE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE TREATED. FIVE NEW COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES (COMOROS, NEPAL, MYANMAR, FRENCH POLYNESIA AND NEW CALEDONIA) WERE APPROVED TO RECEIVE MECTIZAN FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF IDA TO ACCELERATE ELIMINATION OF LF, BRINGING THE NUMBER OF IDA IMPLEMENTING COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES TO 20.