Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections

Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections
AbbreviationGAFFI
Purpose
  • Raise awareness of and collect data on fungal disease[1]
  • To make reliable and inexpensive diagnostic tests widely available[2]
FieldsFungal disease
Chief executive
David Denning[3]
WebsiteOfficial website

The Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections (GAFFI), is an international foundation focussed on raising awareness of and collecting worldwide data on fungal disease. Its aim is to make reliable and inexpensive diagnostic tests widely available.

In 2015, GAFFI proposed action to make afforable fungal diagnostic tests and antifungal treatments available to 95% of the world's population by 2025. In 2018 GAFFI calculated that globally around one billion people have fungal infections of the skin, more than one million people become blind from fungal keratitis, more than 10 million people develop lung disease after breathing in fungal spores, and more than 300 million people have a severe fungal infection every year, of whom over 1.5 million die.

Location and members

The GAFFI is based in Switzerland and the United Kingdom.[3] Its chief executive is David Denning, professor of infectious diseases and global health at the University of Manchester, UK.[3][4] Emma Orefuwa is one of its executives,[5] and also chief executive of GAFFI Kenya.[6] Its advisors include Arunaloke Chakrabarti from India[7][8] as well as individuals from the United States, Australia, Spain, Norway, Brazil and Japan.[7]

Aims

GAFFI is an international foundation focussed on raising awareness of and collecting worldwide data on fungal disease.[1] Its aim is to get reliable and inexpensive diagnostic tests to be widely available, particularly in low and middle income countries.[2] The tests can be produced but the increasing cost of regulatory approval causes difficulty in getting them from the experimental stage in the laboratory to real world use in clinics.[2]

Activities

The GAFFI collects data on fungal diseases.[9][10]

The GAFFI was launched in India in 2014.[7] In 2015, diagnostic tests and antifungal treatments were available for 33–50% of people with severe fungal disease.[11] That year GAFFI proposed action to make fungal diagnostic tests and antifungal treatments available to 95% of the world's population by 2025.[12] Six actions were proposed:

In 2018 the GAFFI calculated that globally around one billion people every year have fungal infections of the skin, more than one million people become blind from fungal keratitis, more than 10 million people develop lung disease after breathing in fungal spores, and more than 300 million people have severe fungal infections, of which over 1.5 million will die from it.[14][15] It met with the World Health Organization (WHO) prior to the WHO advisory meeting in April 2018 and the launch of the WHO's first WHO list of essential diagnostic tests.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 Buitrago, Maria J.; Valero, Clara (2020). "4. Laboratory diagnosis of histoplasmosis: an update". In Bongomin, Felix (ed.). Histoplasma and Histoplasmosis. London: BoD – Books on Demand. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-83962-961-7.
  2. 1 2 3 Gadd, Geoffrey M.; Sariaslani, Sima (2020). Advances in Applied Microbiology. Elsevier. pp. 39–40language=en. ISBN 978-0-12-820703-1.
  3. 1 2 3 "Professor David Denning". The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  4. ↑ Khalaj, Vahid (September 2018). "Professor David W. Denning an Extraordinary High Achiever in Clinical and Translational Science". Iranian Biomedical Journal. 22 (5): 290–291. doi:10.29252/ibj.22.5.290. ISSN 1028-852X. PMC 6058189. PMID 29397044.
  5. ↑ "Executive – Gaffi | Gaffi – Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections". gaffi.org. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Board of Directors – PAMCA". Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 "GAFFI | International experts gather in Delhi to convene a global NGO to fight fungal infections that kill 150 people every hour". RealWire. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "Senior Advisors – Gaffi | Gaffi – Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections". gaffi.org. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  9. ↑ Chander J (2018). "1. Introduction". Textbook of Medical Mycology (4th ed.). New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers Ltd. p. 8. ISBN 978-93-86261-83-0.
  10. ↑ "Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections". NNN. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  11. ↑ Bremer, Steve (8 May 2015). "Call for global action on fungal infection". The Pharmaceutical Journal. doi:10.1211/PJ.2015.20068514.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Denning, David W. (1 July 2015). "The ambitious '95–95 by 2025' roadmap for the diagnosis and management of fungal diseases". Thorax. 70 (7): 613–614. doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl-2015-207305. ISSN 0040-6376. PMID 26024686. S2CID 2406405.
  13. ↑ Gadd, Geoffrey M.; Sariaslani, Sima (June 2020). Advances in Applied Microbiology. Elsevier. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-12-820703-1.
  14. ↑ Rodrigues, Marcio L.; Nosanchuk, Joshua D. (20 February 2020). "Fungal diseases as neglected pathogens: A wake-up call to public health officials". PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 14 (2): e0007964. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0007964. ISSN 1935-2735. PMC 7032689. PMID 32078635.
  15. ↑ Rao, Venketeshwer; Mans, Dennis; Rao, Leticia (12 February 2020). Phytochemicals in Human Health. BoD – Books on Demand. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-78985-587-6.
  16. ↑ "WHO Releases its first essential diagnostic list". life-worldwide.org. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
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