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As part of its mission, DNDi advocate for increased political leadership and greater resources to carry out R&D for neglected diseases, and the need for innovative sustainable mechanisms to finance and stimulate it.

Recognising the importance of fostering a supportive environment for neglected tropical diseases (NTD) research, since its inception DNDi works to raise awareness of critical neglected tropical diseases issues, urge political leadership to create a more favorable environment and to mobilise public and private resources to meet the needs of the most neglected patients.

For example, in June 2005, DNDi launched a global appeal - supported by 19 Nobel Laureates - to trigger off strategic mobilisation about the need for government leadership in ensuring a sustainable commitment towards boosting essential health innovation.  
View the appeal website

In June 2008, before the G8 Summit in Japan, DNDi released a statement endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) urging the G8 governments to support both control programmes and R&D initiatives for NTDs.
Read the press release

In February 2009, DNDi and Médecins Sans Frontières called for a scale-up of R&D in the form of increased governmental and private sector commitments to combat deadly neglected diseases that afflict millions of the world’s poorest.
Read the press release

In July 2009, on the occasion of the Centenary of the discovery of Chagas disease, DNDi will launch a campaign to draw attention to the huge gaps in treatments for Chagas patients. ’Research on Neglected Diseases. Time to Treat Chagas Disease!’ will bring to light the stark realities surrounding the disease.

• Chagas Campaign flyer
  
• Chagas Campagin website
  
• More on Chagas disease

More Sustainable Resources Needed

Despite the establishment of Product Development Partnerships like DNDi and new commitments from public and private donors, funding for scientific and medical innovation for diseases that disproportionably affect the developing world remains inadequate.

The R&D funding gap is particularly severe for the most neglected tropical diseases, which offer virtually no commercial market to product developers. Greater investment, complemented with innovative funding mechanisms and incentives, are needed from both governments and the private sector to ensure that these efforts are sustained and strengthened.

Today, global neglected disease R&D funding in 2007 totalled US$ 2.5 billion (including malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS). Of this amount, only US$ 125 million – less than 5% – was spent on the kinetoplastid diseases (sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease), which are the focus of DNDi ’s efforts.


Enabling R&D Environment

Public leadership is needed to implement policy changes that will support development of new, essential health tools, to ensure equitable access for affected populations; and to contribute to the development of innovative, needs-based measures such as intellectual property management policies to encourage needs-driven R&D, technology transfer, an enabling regulatory environment and strengthening of research capacities in developing countries.

Although a comprehensive, sustainable solution to the problem of neglected disease R&D has not yet emerged, governments, experts, and industry have proposed a number of new ideas, including both “push” mechanisms to finance R&D, and “pull” incentives to spur private sector investment.

In 2006, WHO has established an expert working group to examine current financing and coordination of R&D, as well as new proposals to stimulate innovation related to Type II (that occur in both rich and poor countries such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis) and Type III diseases (those overwhelmingly or exclusively occurring in the developing countries such as sleeping sickness and African river blindness).

All  discussions on going are critical to moving forward and concrete actions must be taken if we are to bring new treatments to patients who desperately need them.