Uniting Efforts for Innovation

About us

ADP works to ensure that people in low- and middle-income countries have access to life-saving health technologies – medicines, vaccines and diagnostic tools – with an emphasis on those technologies that address tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases.

The partners

ADP brings together the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) and PATH in a unique partnership that helps identify and strengthen capacity gaps in low- and middle-income countries in an innovative and integrated way.

Strengthening national health systems

In line with the overarching approach of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, ADP adopts a systemic and integrated perspective towards health system strengthening, aimed at the interlinked targets of eliminating communicable and infectious diseases and achieving real progress towards universal health coverage.

Supporting national responses to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of ensuring equitable access to health services, as well as increasing availability of medicines, vaccines and diagnostic tools in response to established and emerging health threats.

Regional, global and
South-South cooperation

Focusing on common challenges across different health systems, ADP leverages the experiences and expertise of its network of stakeholders to deliver both policy lessons and technical solutions.

Focus countries

ADP collaborates with stakeholders in a number of focus countries – Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Senegal, United Republic of Tanzania and Thailand
– to implement a range of capacity-strengthening interventions, which are in line with the ADP strategic approach of leveraging the expertise of its four core partners and working across sectors to help strengthen and harmonize policies, regulations and systems, as well as build the capacities of key people and institutions.

Uniting Efforts

The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how close collaboration among multiple stakeholders can overcome major hurdles to the development, approval and delivery of new medicines, vaccines and diagnostic tools. But opportunities for such intense collaboration are rare, and access to new health technologies remains uneven.

Knowledge products

ADP knowledge products advance learning and contribute to improved policies, programmes and practices, as well as demonstrate human impact on the ground.

TDR Implementation research toolkit

This toolkit is designed to help teams conduct implementation research projects through a standard process to ensure reliable, high-quality results.

COVID-19 diagnostics procurement resource

An interactive tool to support procurement decisions by aggregating and streamlining publicly available information about the technical specifications, regulatory status and supply of COVID-19 diagnostic tests.

A pipeline analysis of new products for malaria, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases

This working paper provides a comprehensive survey of new medicines, diagnostics and vaccines for malaria, TB and selected NTDs, that are currently in the pipeline for market entry by 2020.

Digital Health for Development Hub

A one-stop shop with technical, advisory and partnership support for scaling up digital health solutions.

From the start of the R&D stage to when the health technology reaches affected communities and individuals, the entire value chain acts as a complex adaptive system that requires cohesive contributions from multiple entities and disciplines. There are limited opportunities for funders, innovators, policy-makers and access and delivery stakeholders to discuss common challenges and needs, and to identify solutions.

Visit Uniting Efforts website

To bridge this gap, ADP, in close partnership with the Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund and the Government of Japan, launched the Uniting Efforts for Innovation, Access and Delivery (Uniting Efforts) initiative. It convenes key global and national stakeholders to drive a common approach among networks of product development partnerships and delivery-focused organizations towards greater strategic collaboration, aligned action and country preparedness across the innovation, access and delivery continuum.

Uniting Efforts has published and disseminated knowledge products and convened high-level consultations, including two global dialogues, on a range of issues, including:

Uniting Efforts has also recently initiated a collaboration with the WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) to develop common guidance and tools for national investment cases to improve financing and funding for access and delivery of health technologies for neglected diseases. This is expected to be an important contribution towards the country-led implementation of the new WHO roadmap on NTDs, Ending the Neglect to Attain the Sustainable Development Goals: A Road Map for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021–2030.

Uniting Efforts has transformed the way health technologies for neglected diseases are financed, discovered, developed and delivered. By bringing together a broad range of stakeholders involved in health technology R&D funding, innovation and access, this unique platform has deepened the synergies and cooperation between these entities, and fostered a common approach to maximizing the opportunities for innovation, access and delivery of health technologies.