2. Responsibility
  3. Global Health and Access
  4. Access in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
  5. Invasive Fungal Infections
Continental Map Showing affected AreasContinental Map with some area affected
Two women walking in field with a bagTwo women walking in field with a bag

How we are helping eliminate invasive fungal infections

For more than 30 years, we've worked with the World Health Organization to address the burdens of invasive fungal infections and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) including visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and cryptococcal meningitis.

We were one of the original endorsers of the London Declaration supporting the control and elimination of NTDs and we reaffirmed our commitment by signing onto the Kigali Declaration in 2022.

Fungal visceralVisceral Fungal

What is Visceral
Leishmaniasis?

VL, or kala-azar, is one of the most dangerous NTDs globally. If left untreated, it is fatal in more than 95% of cases.
VL is most common in east Africa, the Indian subcontinent, central and southwest Asia, the Middle East and Brazil.
Between 700,000 and 1 million cases occur each year — it is most prevalent in low- and middle-income countries.
VL is particularly dangerous for people living with HIV, as co-infections have been linked to accelerated HIV replication and higher mortality rates.

What is Cryptococcal Meningitis?

Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is an opportunistic fungal infection that is a leading cause of death in HIV-infected adults, accounting for nearly one-fifth of global HIV-associated mortality.

More than 150,000 cases are diagnosed each year among people living with HIV and other people with compromised immune system, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.

Vast inequities persist in CM mortality rates between low-income countries and high-income countries.

Gilead’s Role

Since 1992, we have partnered with the WHO and other groups to make our therapies available at discounted prices in low- and middle-income countries and we are proud to sign on to international agreements including the London and Kigali declarations.

In addition, we have longstanding collaborations with international health organizations, patient groups and other partners to eliminate invasive fungal infections.

We work closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) to connect individuals in areas with heavy burden of VL to medicine and also coordinate capacity-building initiatives and education campaigns. Our commitment to supporting the WHO VL elimination framework exceeds $31 million, including drug donations and financial support. From 2011-2025, we will have donated 1.13 million vials of our medicine to eliminate VL in endemic countries. We also work with Médecins Sans Frontières and Unitaid to help prevent, diagnose and treat VL.

In 2023, we signed an agreement with the WHO to donate an additional 300,000 vials of our medicine. The renewed collaboration, estimated at a value of $11.3 million, also includes financial assistance that will support improved coverage and access to screening in countries such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Kenya, Nepal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda and Yemen.

As a result of our partnership with the WHO, we’ve helped reduce the number of reported VL cases in Nepal, Bangladesh and India by over 95%. And in 2023, the WHO announced that VL was eliminated as a public health threat in Bangladesh.