Dolutegravir (DTG), a life-saving HIV treatment used by 24 million people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), has unexpectedly contributed to significant reductions in carbon emissions compared to the previous standard-of-care treatment, efavirenz, according to a new study. report By the global health initiative Unitaid.
The report estimates that the transition to DTG would save more than 26 million tonnes of CO2 It will cut carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere between 2017 and 2027. The reduction in emissions is equivalent to cutting 10 years’ worth of carbon dioxide emissions from Geneva, Switzerland, according to a report released on Monday.
This is the first report to analyse the environmental impact of a single widely used medicine compared with its alternatives. From milligrams to megatons Last year, the company released a report analysing the climate and nature ratings of 10 key public health products in its portfolio.
“One of the findings of this study of 10 products is that carbon emissions can be very significant, and this one, dolutegravir, stood out as a particularly significant product,” said Vincent Bretin, director of UnitAid’s outcomes and climate team. Health Policy Watch.
“That means [this report] “This comparison really digs deep, and it shows that the previous generation of efavirenz actually produced more emissions — all the steps that were required to manufacture it generated more carbon emissions around the world compared to current treatments,” he said.
Unitaid is sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and focuses on supporting the treatment of tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS and their deadly co-infections, primarily in low- and middle-income countries.
As global carbon emissions continue to rise and climate impacts worsen, various sectors are being called upon to reduce their carbon footprint while simultaneously addressing development challenges. In this context, the Unitaid report provides actionable pathways for reducing carbon emissions in the health sector.
Carbon footprint of the medical sector
The carbon footprint of the medical sector is approximately 5% of global carbon emissions This is larger than the emissions of many large countries. This has been discussed for several years. Health Policy Watch Have Reported earlierHowever, no concrete measures have been taken to reduce these emissions.
Bretin said various estimates suggest that around 50% to 70% of healthcare emissions come from the supply chain – in the case of HIV treatment, 90% of emissions come from upstream manufacturing.
DTG is the most effective and cheapest antiretroviral drug to date. Thanks to a global coordinated effort by Unitaid, manufacturers, governments, the World Health Organization and affected communities, its rapid rollout in low- and middle-income countries has occurred since 2017. DTG is now standard of care in over 110 low- and middle-income countries.
“This report shows that it is possible to significantly improve health outcomes while also making a significant contribution to reducing carbon emissions. By adopting innovative methods and prioritizing sustainability, we can ensure that medicines like DTG are not only effective, but also environmentally friendly,” Bulletin said.
The reduced emissions were found to be due to the fact that DTG requires less active pharmaceutical ingredient, which naturally reduces emissions during the production process.
Although DTG’s carbon footprint has been significantly reduced compared to its predecessor, it remains very high and all stakeholders need to work together to reduce it further, the report said.
The Need for Innovation in the Medical Field
The sector needs to focus on technological improvements and innovation to reduce the carbon footprint of medicines and other pharmaceutical products.
The report outlines several measures that can be taken to further reduce emissions from DTG, which could also be applied to other common medicines.
According to the report, these emissions could be reduced by up to 40% through cost-saving measures such as process optimization to improve energy and material efficiency, and by a further 50% through the adoption of green energy and green materials.
Greater eco-efficiency also requires optimized supply chains, supported by concerted efforts to improve distribution and production processes.
“This report shows the potential for health interventions to contribute to climate goals, but it also highlights missed opportunities: even larger reductions in carbon emissions could have been achieved if climate considerations had been mainstreamed into the design of these initiatives,” Oyun Sanjasuren, director of external relations at the Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest climate fund, said in the report’s foreword.
UnitAid hopes the report will encourage pharmaceutical companies, innovators, public health officials and governments to pay closer attention to the healthcare sector’s carbon emissions.
“I think it’s the broader ecosystem that needs to move from where we are today to embedding climate considerations into policy and the way we work,” Bretin said.
No mechanism to prevent “greenwashing”
But promoting some products as more environmentally friendly than others leaves them open to greenwashing – a marketing technique used to convince the public that a product is environmentally friendly.
If more companies and organizations use this claim in marketing medicines, end users will have no way of knowing if their medicines are environmentally friendly or not.
“As an international medical community, we don’t yet have the systems, methods or standards to do this in a standardized way and, for example, audit or request information from manufacturers to see whether they are really doing what they claim to do,” the Bulletin acknowledged.
The Unitaid report states: International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference – The world’s largest event on HIV research and policy.
Image credits: Unsplash, Unitaid Reports.
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