02 May 2024, Geneva, Switzerland-Stop TB Partnership is proud to announce that Brenda Waning,
Chief of the Global Drug Facility, has been named to TIME's inaugural 2024 TIME100 Health List of 100 individuals who most influenced global health this year. The list recognizes the impact, innovation, and achievement of the world’s most influential people in global health.
Dr Waning leads the Global Drug Facility (GDF), a team within the Stop TB Partnership, hosted by UNOPS. The GDF works globally to promote access to quality-assured, affordable products for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of tuberculosis (TB). In 2023 alone, GDF supplied US$324 million worth of TB medicines and diagnostics to 134 countries
“I’m humbled to be recognized alongside others doing such important work to improve the health of others globally. This is an honor to be shared with each and every GDF staff member, partner and donors, all of whom are deeply committed and working tirelessly to do their part in the fight to end TB,” said Dr Waning. “Several TB innovations have recently emerged, many with the potential to dramatically transform approaches to finding and treating people with TB; but these innovations will only be helpful if they quickly reach all those who need them. GDF is fortunate to collaborate with dedicated suppliers, partners, National TB Programmes, donors, civil society and communities and others in Stop TB to develop incentives for innovation, along with strategies to reduce prices, and first-in-class logistics to overcome barriers inherent in TB markets that limit or delay access to these life-saving innovations,” she added.
The full list and related tributes appear in the May 13, 2024 issue of TIME, available on newsstands on Friday, May 3, and now at time.com/time100health.
About TB: TB is a preventable and curable disease; and while largely controlled in high-income countries, TB remains highly prevalent in many low- and middle-income countries. Approximately 2 billion people are infected with TB. Every year an estimated 6 million people develop active TB disease, and 1.3 million people die from TB making it one of the world’s top infectious disease killers. For more information about TB.
About Stop TB’s GDF: Established in 2001, GDF is the largest global procurer of TB products, supplying more than 400 products and services needed to prevent, diagnose, and treat all forms of TB. GDF’s integrated pooled procurement approach incorporates a unique set of tools and services, including technical assistance, a strategic rotating stockpile, and market stewardship. It’s pioneering approach serves as a model for other diseases and initiatives on how to work in partnership to promote expedited and uninterrupted access to quality, affordable health products in the context of unattractive and extremely fragile markets.
About the Stop TB Partnership: The Stop TB Partnership is a unique United Nations hosted entity based in Geneva, Switzerland, committed to revolutionizing tuberculosis (TB) space to end the disease by 2030. The organization aligns more than 2,000 partners worldwide to promote cross-sectoral collaboration. The Stop TB Partnership’s various teams and initiatives take bold and smart risks to identify, fund and support innovative approaches, ideas, and solutions to ensure the TB community has a voice at the highest political levels and that all TB-affected people have access to affordable, quality, and people-centered care.