2013 World Health Assembly should focus on new global rules, financing mechanisms for essential health

"This January marks the first anniversary of the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases -- a coordinated effort by endemic countries, non-governmental organizations, drug companies, and donors to improve the lives of more than a billion of the world's poorest people by the end of the decade," a Lancet editorial writes. "A year on from the launch, the results look promising," the editorial continues, and highlights some of these results. "The progress achieved represents what can be done if a concerted international effort is made -- e.g., the strides towards the elimination of Guinea worm and yaws," the editorial states.

"However, the fight is far from over," as the "WHO reports that dengue is now the world's fastest spreading tropical disease and 'represents a pandemic threat,"' the editorial continues. "In April, 2012, the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development (R&D) recommended a framework for sustainable financing and coordination implemented through a legally binding convention," it notes, adding, "The 2013 World Health Assembly should be more ambitious and put back on the agenda the proposal for new global rules to secure sustained financing mechanisms for essential health R&D" (1/26).