Innovative Programme Boosting Treatment for the World’s Poor
Geneva, 28 September 2009 – UNITAID will launch a global ‘Thank you’ campaign on 28 September to highlight achievements in global health thanks to the steady support of its contributors. Launched by Brazil, Chile France, Norway and the United Kingdom in 2006, UNITAID is an international facility that uses innovative, long-term financing to expand access to treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in developing countries.
"In just three years, UNITAID funds have made available 12 million treatments across 93 countries, saving or improving millions of lives," said Dr Jorge Bermudez, Executive Secretary of UNITAID. "Our message through this campaign is: look at how much we have achieved, please join us in this effort."
Funded by a small levy on airline tickets applied in a dozen countries (making up 70% of its revenue) and through governments’ multi-year contributions, UNITAID aims to thank air travellers and tax payers in the 29 countries that support it today, and to encourage more countries to back the initiative.
While only 10% of children living with HIV/AIDS have access to medicines today, three out of four of those children are being treated thanks to UNITAID's support and partnership with the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative. Through this partnership, seven new AIDS medicines for children have been made available and their price has been slashed by almost two thirds.
UNITAID, partnering with UNICEF and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, has so far distributed eight million of the most effective malaria treatments - artemisinin-based combination therapy - and is providing 20 million bed nets - a proven method for malaria prevention – to endemic countries. UNITAID is also a major donor in global efforts to tackle tuberculosis (TB), including deadly TB strains, with over 200 million dollars invested, through the Stop TB Partnership, in testing and treating the disease in 72 countries.
The UNITAID "Thank you" campaign will be featured initially on international and national television networks, on the web, in cinemas, in airports and on aeroplanes in the countries that currently support the initiative and beyond.
Campaign materials are based on real people's stories in three countries. They feature children who are benefiting from UNITAID-funded HIV/AIDS treatment in an orphanage in Cambodia; a father of two undergoing MDR-TB treatment in Nepal; and a young Zambian family who, until recently, lived under the threat of recurrent bouts of malaria.
UNITAID
UNITAID was established to provide additional funding to support existing efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Through implementing partners, UNITAID uses its funds to purchase tests and medicines of assured quality and ensure fast delivery to the patients who most need them - those in low- and middle-income countries. In just three years, UNITAID has committed one billion dollars to purchasing health products and has delivered 12 million treatments in 93 countries.
It complements other efforts in global health by targeting crucial gaps in treatment provision (i.e. children's medicines, combination therapies) and impacting positively on pharmaceuticals markets by making better and more medicines available to the poor. UNITAID is hosted by the World Health Organization.
Contact:
Daniela Bagozzi, UNITAID Communication, Tel: +41 22 791 45 44; Mob: +41 79 475 54 90; Email:
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