A $300 million research partnership has been formed by three major global health funders – the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Wellcome, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The goal of this initiative is to address the interconnected impacts of climate change, malnutrition, infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance, with a particular focus on developing affordable solutions for people in low and middle-income countries.
Each funder will contribute $100 million to the three-year partnership. The aim is to break down barriers between different areas of research that are often isolated, as demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which revealed how obesity can increase the severity of certain infectious diseases and how climate change-related extreme weather events can lead to food insecurity, making undernourished children more susceptible to diseases like measles and cholera. Advances in nutritional science and understanding the gut microbiome are seen as key to comprehending the impact of over- and under-nutrition on overall health and development.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation, which has a controlling interest in Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical company, has seen success with its weight-loss drug Wegovy. The partners emphasize the importance of this initiative in light of waning global focus on health post-pandemic. The funding will also provide support for researchers in low- and middle-income countries, with an openness to engaging with private, philanthropic, and public partners.
The partners stress the significance of addressing market failures and ensuring equitable access to medical advances globally. They recognize that the most effective solutions often come from the communities directly affected by the challenges being addressed. Catherine Kyobutungi, executive director of the African Population and Health Research Center, a prominent research institution, highlights the role of community involvement in finding solutions to pressing health issues.