Addressing the needs of low- and middle-income countries

HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis kills 4.4 million people each year. These deaths take a huge toll on families and communities, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. Tackling these major pandemics has been a key focus of the international community over the last decade. A critical barrier to reversing these high mortality rates is the fact that the health commodities required to test and treat these diseases are inaccessible to most of the people who need them. This is because they are either too expensive, or because the needed tools simply do not exist.

Multi-lateral agencies, civil society and governments have made some progress in recent years through efforts to raise global awareness, greater funding commitments from wealthy countries and new approaches to development aid. However, the global targets set by the international community to end inequities will not be reached without intensified action.

Much of the global disease burden is in low- and middle-income countries, that cannot afford the range of quality tests and treatments they need. Because patients in these countries do not represent a lucrative market for the private sector, there has been limited investment in new health care products to fight diseases predominant in poor countries.

UNITAID’s funding enables not only the purchase of existing medicines, but also encourages industry to invest in research and development relevant to diseases that disproportionately affect people in developing countries.

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UNITAID: laboratory for innovative financing for development