A young girl volunteers to help a health worker demonstrate to bednet recipients in Ambowuha, Antsokia Woreda, the correct way to use the nets during the distribution of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLIN) to prevent malaria, the country’s biggest killer disease. Photo Credit: Louise Gubb/Corbis via Getty Images
Health The WorldLifesaving Investments Against Infectious Diseases Prove Worth Every Penny (and More!)
A recent study shows that the $100 billion invested in fighting infectious diseases in poor countries over the last 30 years generated almost $50 trillion and will have averted more than 40 million deaths by 2040.
Policy Cures Research conducted the study in partnership with Avenir Health, which used data from the Global Burden of Disease study to model the extent of death and disease cut to date.
Since 1994, $97.9 billion has been spent on vaccines – like the RTS,S, and R21 malaria vaccines – treatments, diagnostic tools, and preventing tools like bed nets for diseases like malaria. With promising tools “in the pipeline” to be rolled out before 2040, the total investment could reach $122.7 billion. Over the same period, this investment generated $49.7 trillion – or $405 in return on investment for every dollar invested – with 40.7 million total deaths averted between 2000 and 2040. Critical institutions like the World Health Organization, the Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria have conducted fundraising drives over the years despite a lack of appropriate response from world leaders.
