If we are fortunate enough to make a vaccine available , our next challenge will be to make it accessible . Medical breakthroughs have created medicines and vaccines for many life-threatening diseases.
Many therapies are off-patent and inexpensive.
Yet millions still suffer from illnesses that are preventable or treatable. The kind of cooperation GAVI represents will be essential for improving access to better health care and medicines for people throughout the world. Our experience with the medicine Mectizan , which treats and prevents river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, has taught us that even the simplest pharmaceutical intervention faces tremendous challenges in delivery. This medicine has no special storage requirements, requires minimal medical supervision, and is taken as one tablet just once a year. Today's cutting-edge treatments, including those that scientists at our company discovered and developed, are costly and require complex medical oversight.