Effective Infodemic Management: A Substantive Article of the Pandemic Accord.

Social media has proven to be valuable for disseminating public health information during pandemics. However, the circulation of misinformation through social media during public health emergencies, such as the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), Ebola, and COVID-19 pandemics, has seriously hampered effective responses, leading to negative consequences. Intentionally misleading and deceptive fake news aims to harm organizations and individuals. To effectively respond to misinformation, governments should strengthen the management of an "infodemic," which involves monitoring the impact of infodemics through social listening, detecting signals of infodemic spread, mitigating the harmful effects of infodemics, and strengthening the resilience of individuals and communities. The global spread of misinformation requires multisectoral collaboration, such as researchers identifying leading sources of misinformation and superspreaders, media agencies identifying and debunking misinformation, technology platforms reducing the distribution of false or misleading posts and guiding users to health information from credible sources, and governments disseminating clear public health information in partnership with trusted messengers. Additionally, fact-checking has room for improvement through the use of automated checks. Collaboration between governments and fact-checking agencies should also be strengthened via effective and timely debunking mechanisms. Though the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) has yet to define the term "infodemic," Article 18 of the INB Bureau's text, developed for the Pandemic Accord, encompasses a range of actions aimed at enhancing infodemic management. The INB Bureau continues to facilitate evidence-informed discussion for an implementable article on infodemic management.

Opportunities and challenges of leveraging COVID-19 vaccine innovation and technologies for developing sustainable vaccine manufacturing capabilities in Africa.

The COVID-19 pandemic heralded unprecedented resource mobilisation and global scientific collaboration to rapidly develop effective vaccines. Regrettably, vaccine distribution has been inequitable, particularly in Africa where manufacturing capacity remains nominal. To address this, several initiatives are underway to develop and manufacture COVID-19 vaccines in Africa. Nevertheless, diminishing demand for COVID-19 vaccines, the cost competitiveness of producing goods locally, intellectual property rights issues, and complex regulatory environments among other challenges can undermine these ventures. We outline how extending COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing in Africa to include diverse products, multiple vaccine platforms, and advanced delivery systems will ensure sustainability. Possible models, including leveraging public-academic-private partnerships to enhance success of vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa are also discussed. Intensifying research in vaccine discovery on the continent could yield vaccines that further bolster sustainability of local production, ensuring greater pandemic preparedness in resource-constrained environments, and long-term health systems security.

Needs-driven talent and competency development for the next generation of regulatory scientists in Africa.

Capacity building programmes for African regulators should link education, training and research with career development in an approach that combines an academic base and experiential learning aligned within a competency framework. A regulatory ecosystem that engages with a broad range of stakeholders will mean that expertise in the ever-expanding field of regulatory science filters into teaching and research in a symbiotic way. In this way capacity development interventions will be a collaborative approach between the learning context (academic and training institutions) and the performance context (regulatory agencies and industry), which will ultimately best serve the patients. Monitoring and evaluation of capacity development interventions will be essential to show value of investments and ultimately guide continued funding and sustainability. This paper reviews the skills and human capacity gaps, reports on regulatory assessment pathways used in Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe and outlines a staged tactical approach for Africa that builds on previous efforts to strengthen African regulatory ecosystems.

Access to effective antimicrobials: a worldwide challenge.

Recent years have seen substantial improvements in life expectancy and access to antimicrobials, especially in low-income and lower-middle-income countries, but increasing pathogen resistance to antimicrobials threatens to roll back this progress. Resistant organisms in health-care and community settings pose a threat to survival rates from serious infections, including neonatal sepsis and health-care-associated infections, and limit the potential health benefits from surgeries, transplants, and cancer treatment. The challenge of simultaneously expanding appropriate access to antimicrobials, while restricting inappropriate access, particularly to expensive, newer generation antimicrobials, is unique in global health and requires new approaches to financing and delivering health care and a one-health perspective on the connections between pathogen transmission in animals and humans. Here, we describe the importance of effective antimicrobials. We assess the disease burden caused by limited access to antimicrobials, attributable to resistance to antimicrobials, and the potential effect of vaccines in restricting the need for antibiotics.

Strategies for achieving global collective action on antimicrobial resistance.

Global governance and market failures mean that it is not possible to ensure access to antimicrobial medicines of sustainable effectiveness. Many people work to overcome these failures, but their institutions and initiatives are insufficiently coordinated, led and financed. Options for promoting global collective action on antimicrobial access and effectiveness include building institutions, crafting incentives and mobilizing interests. No single option is sufficient to tackle all the challenges associated with antimicrobial resistance. Promising institutional options include monitored milestones and an inter-agency task force. A global pooled fund could be used to craft incentives and a special representative nominated as an interest mobilizer. There are three policy components to the problem of antimicrobials--ensuring access, conservation and innovation. To address all three components, the right mix of options needs to be matched with an effective forum and may need to be supported by an international legal framework.

Les dysfonctionnements de la gouvernance et du marché à l'échelle mondiale se traduisent par une impossibilité de garantir l'accès à des médicaments antimicrobiens durablement efficaces. De nombreuses personnes s'emploient à pallier ces dysfonctionnements, mais leurs institutions et leurs initiatives manquent de coordination, de direction et de moyens financiers. La création d'institutions, l'élaboration de mesures d'incitation et la mobilisation des parties intéressées font partie des options possibles pour promouvoir une action collective mondiale sur l'accès aux antimicrobiens et sur leur efficacité. Aucune option isolée ne suffira à venir à bout de tous les problèmes associés à la résistance aux antimicrobiens. Parmi les options institutionnelles prometteuses, il convient de mentionner le suivi des étapes importantes et une équipe spéciale interorganisations. Des fonds mis en commun à l'échelle mondiale pourraient être utilisés pour élaborer des mesures d'incitation et un représentant spécial pourrait être chargé de mobiliser les parties intéressées. Le problème des antimicrobiens comporte trois aspects stratégiques: garantir l'accès, la conservation et l'innovation. Pour agir à l'égard de ces trois aspects, il est nécessaire d'associer les options, harmonieusement combinées, à une structure efficace et, peut-être, de les inscrire dans un cadre juridique international.

Los fracasos de gobernanza mundial y de los mercados significan que no es posible garantizar el acceso a medicamentos antimicrobianos de efectividad sostenible. Muchas personas trabajan para solucionar estos problemas, pero sus instituciones e iniciativas no están lo suficientemente coordinadas, guiadas y financiadas. Las opciones para promocionar una acción colectiva global en cuanto al acceso a los antimicrobianos y la efectividad incluyen la creación de instituciones, la elaboración de incentivos y la movilización de intereses. Ninguna opción por sí sola es suficiente para afrontar todos los desafíos asociados con la resistencia a los antimicrobianos. Las opciones institucionales prometedoras incluyen hitos supervisados y un grupo de acción interinstitucional. Se podría utilizar un fondo combinado global para elaborar incentivos y nominar un representante especial como un movilizador de intereses. El problema de los antimicrobianos tiene tres componentes de las políticas: asegurar el acceso, la conservación y la innovación. Para abordar los tres componentes se necesita que la mezcla correcta de opciones se una a un foro efectivo, y podría necesitar el apoyo de un marco legal internacional.