Hundreds of millions of lives reached with advances in healthcare in Unitaid’s 15 years

Unitaid marks 15th anniversary, celebrates greater equity in global health

  • More than 150 transformational health products introduced, improving care and health outcomes for more than 100 million people each year.
  • With improvements to efficiency and effectiveness, these products will generate more than US$5 billion in savings by 2030.
  • Game-changing interventions include: top HIV treatments; first-ever medicine formulations for treating HIV, curing TB, and preventing malaria in children; all malaria prevention tools; and screen-and-treat solutions for cervical cancer.
  • United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres commends Unitaid’s agile approach in a statement marking the anniversary.

Geneva – In advance of its 15th anniversary, Unitaid today announced the impact of its efforts to create better, faster, more equitable health responses.

In the past 15 years, Unitaid has unlocked access to more than 150 advances in health technologies, transforming care for the more than 100 million people each year who benefit from the products.

These include: the best and most widely used HIV treatments; the first-ever medicines for treating children with HIV and TB and preventing malaria; screen-and-treat solutions for cervical cancer; and all tools currently used in malaria prevention.

Unitaid has also taken a leadership role in the COVID-19 response as a key member of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), helping deliver the most coordinated global health effort of the past century.

With a total budget of less than 1% of the global investment needed for TB, HIV and malaria combined, Unitaid-supported products will generate more than US$5 billion in savings by 2030.

Unitaid delivers this impact by identifying breakthrough health products and addressing the barriers that limit their wide-scale use.

“Thanks to Unitaid, more people across Africa have access to the best HIV treatments at a fraction of the original price. Young children have been cured of tuberculosis with high-quality formulations that are easy to administer. Millions of young people are better protected against malaria through large-scale seasonal delivery of medicines, an approach that has dramatically reduced child mortality without raising costs,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement marking the anniversary.

“Unitaid has advanced the quality of care for hundreds of millions of people worldwide who benefit from the game-changing health innovations we introduced. But with 2030 targets looming and massive setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to overcome, Unitaid’s work is now more critical than ever,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid.

“For 15 years, Unitaid has been supporting countries to scale up innovations that save lives. WHO is proud to work with Unitaid  to identify gaps and design interventions that are most needed to protect and promote health. By working to make sure innovations do not get stuck on their path to scale up, the entire global health system benefits from Unitaid’s model,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).

“I am delighted to join people from all around the world in congratulating Unitaid on 15 years of lifesaving work. Since its creation in 2006, Unitaid has been one of the most effective organizations working in global health and global development,” said former United States President Bill Clinton, founder of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).

Unitaid was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Chile, France, Norway, and the United Kingdom to fight growing inequities in health. It has pioneered the introduction of critical interventions that are the mainstays of global health responses today.

Its funders have since grown to include Japan, the Republic of Korea, Spain and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with additional support in response to COVID-19 from Canada, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Wellcome.

Unitaid will mark its 15th anniversary at a high-level event on 22 May, during the World Health Assembly in Geneva, celebrating the achievements in global health delivered with its partners and galvanising momentum to tackle the challenges that remain.

Media contacts:

For more information and media requests:

Hervé Verhoosel, Head of Communications, M: +41 79 249 35 29, verhooselh@unitaid.who.int

Maggie Zander, Communications officer, M: +41 79 593 17 74, zanderm@unitaid.who.int

UN Secretary-General commends Unitaid’s commitment to health equity and innovation in advance of 15th anniversary

Geneva – Unitaid will celebrate its anniversary on the eve of the World Health Assembly this 22 May at a high-level event that will bring together partners from governments, implementing agencies, civil society and affected communities. In recognition of Unitaid’s 15-year history and its leadership role in global health, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued the following statement of support.

I am pleased to mark the 15th anniversary of Unitaid and its critical role in breaking down barriers in low- and middle-income countries to scale up innovative health services and products to ensure health for all and realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Thanks to Unitaid, more people across Africa have access to the best HIV treatments at a fraction of the original price. Young children have been cured of tuberculosis with high-quality formulations that are easy to administer. Millions of young people are better protected against malaria through large-scale seasonal delivery of medicines, an approach that has dramatically reduced child mortality without raising costs.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for equitable access to health commodities and strong, coordinated global health responses. Unitaid’s agile approach enables innovative solutions to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases, saves precious time and helps strengthen our collective capacity to respond to current and future health threats.

I commend Unitaid’s commitment to health equity and innovation in addressing global challenges. My warmest congratulations for your outstanding efforts in advancing global health and saving lives.

On World Health Day, Unitaid rallies around the “Our Planet, our Health” campaign

Geneva – Unitaid joins partners to observe World Health Day 2022 today, reaffirming its strong commitment to contribute to keep humans and the planet healthy.

Climate change has been identified as the single biggest health threat of the 21st century, already harming the world’s most vulnerable people and menacing to undermine decades of progress in global health.

Global warming multiplies the risk of floods, storms, drought and heat waves worldwide, driving non-communicable and infectious diseases, including mosquito-borne diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), climate change may put two billion more people at risk of dengue infection and cause an additional 250,000 deaths per year between 2030 and 2050, mainly from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress.

Unitaid’s role is to enable access to lifesaving health products for those who need them most, fast-tracking the innovations needed to make a transformative impact on global health. In addition to contributing to the response to climate change impacts on global health – mainly targeting infectious diseases and cross-cutting areas such as fever management and maternal and child health – Unitaid is helping address the causes of rising temperatures with carbon emissions-cutting efforts.

In line with the Paris Agreement goals, Unitaid has committed to halve the carbon emissions of its Secretariat by 2030 and offset its carbon footprint to effectively achieve net-zero emissions from 2022.

Unitaid’s Climate Action Roadmap, launched during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) at the end of 2021, maps out the way forward to achieve these targets, by decarbonizing its procurements, reducing the footprint of its business travels, raising awareness of its staff and neutralizing its remaining footprint from 2022 onwards by purchasing independently verified carbon credits. The use of carbon offset will be limited and strictly positioned as a transition tool to internalize the cost of carbon while contributing to the financing of the global net-zero transition.

Unitaid is also working hand in hand with its grant implementers and other partners to identify sustainable low carbon strategies and opportunities to establish and embed greener grant management modalities in its operating model.

Preventing greenhouse gas emission in reducing the carbon emissions of its investments and of the health innovations it supports are priorities reflected in Unitaid’s upcoming 2022-2026 strategy.

Unitaid is strongly committed to ensuring equitable access to quality health products while contributing to an environmentally responsible and sustainable global health response.

World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April each year and marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948.

#HealthierTomorrow

Media contact:

For more information and media requests:

Sarah Mascheroni

Communications officer

Email: mascheronisa@unitaid.who.int

Mobile: +41 79 728 73 11

Call for PRC membership applications March 2022

Geneva – Unitaid is pleased to issue a call for applications of experts to replenish its Proposal Review Committee (PRC) for the period June 2022 – June 2025.

Unitaid designs and invests in innovative approaches to make quality health products available and affordable in low- and middle-income countries. It inspires and promotes collective efforts with partners, countries, and communities, unlocking access to the tools, services and care that can deliver the best results, improve health and address global health priorities. PRC is Unitaid’s independent, impartial team of experts, chaired by Mr. Andy Gray, who provide scientific, public health, health systems, programmatic, country implementation, market dynamics and health economics expertise to Unitaid in its advisory capacity. PRC works closely with the Unitaid Secretariat in the Joint Review Committee, reviews proposals submitted for funding and draft grant agreement documents according to established criteria.

Applications for PRC membership are welcome to fill both the Core Member and Disease/issue specific Member functions. For further detail on PRC Member functions, requirements, expertise, working procedures and the process of selection, please refer to the PRC Terms of Reference.

Process for proposal submission

Interested experts should send their CV and letter of motivation to proposalsunitaid@who.int by close of business CEST on Thursday 7 April 2022. Applications received past the indicated deadline will not be considered. 

N.B. An application is considered submitted only once you receive an e-mail message of confirmation of receipt from Unitaid.

The letter of motivation should clearly state whether the applicant wishes to be considered for the Core Member and/or Disease/issue specific Member functions and should clearly indicate which area(s) of expertise outlined in the PRC Terms of Reference he/she could cover. PRC Members are senior experts, therefore any claim of area of expertise has to be supported with evidence of at least 10 years of expertise and/or references from organizations where expertise has previously been provided.

The work of the PRC is guided by strict conflict of interest rules, therefore Unitaid cannot engage experts that have current or recent (over the past 6 months) long term employment as a staff member or full time consultant (or part -time in the case of Core Members) with a Unitaid grantee on an active grant.

After assessment of the applications and endorsement by the Unitaid Board during its meeting in June 2022 all applicants will be officially notified as to whether their application has been successful.

More info about this call:

Mārtiņš Pāvelsons

Governance Manager

+41 79 254 68 15  Mob

pavelsonsm@unitaid.who.int

Former French Minister Marisol Touraine reelected chair of the Unitaid Executive Board; Unitaid on track to deliver its new strategy for 2022-26

Geneva – At its virtual 39th meeting, the Unitaid Executive Board reelected Marisol Touraine as Board Chair for a further two-year term. Ms Touraine will continue in the position until June 2024.

Marisol Touraine is former French Minister of Social Affairs, Health and Women’s Rights and has served as chair of the Unitaid Executive Board since June 2019.

“I am grateful to the Executive Board for this vote of confidence,” said Ms Touraine. “I remain fully committed to support and ensure Unitaid delivers successfully on its mandate of making equitable access to innovative health solutions a reality for all.”

During her tenure as chair, Ms Touraine helped to strengthen Unitaid’s governance and create greater transparency and inclusivity. The Executive Board’s strategic leadership has brought clear guidance to the Secretariat and delivered informed decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. With sustained mobilization from the Board, Unitaid has gained visibility and recognition, triggering interest and contributions from new donors.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Unitaid has managed to adapt and evolve, demonstrating the relevance of its model and how its unique expertise and leadership is essential and complements the work of other key global health players in delivering effective solutions.

“I applaud the reelection of Marisol Touraine as chair of the Unitaid Executive Board. This is the result of her invaluable leadership and strategic guidance,” Unitaid Executive Director Dr Philippe Duneton said. “The renewal of her mandate is timely as Unitaid enters the last phase of developing its new strategic plan for the next five years. Marisol’s contribution and engagement alongside our Board members are key in the success of this endeavour.”

During this two-day session, the board also agreed on a strategic framework for Unitaid’s new strategy for 2022-26, keeping the Secretariat on track to approve its ambitious and transformative strategic plan next year.

This collaborative work the Secretariat is steering builds on Unitaid’s current strengths and reinforces its position in a fast-evolving global health landscape. It was developed based on lessons learnt from the   COVID-19 global health crisis and defines where and how Unitaid can bring the greatest impact.

The new strategy is a step forward in Unitaid’s ambition to bring innovative, integrated, end-to-end solutions to those who need them most. Fully financing its implementation will be key and continued support from the Executive Board for resource mobilization efforts remain crucial.

“We had very constructive and vivid discussions around Unitaid’s future during this board. I am pleased we have been able to bring together the richness of different perspectives and provide clear directions for the next steps of the development of our new strategy,” said Marisol Touraine.

“In addition to taking on a lead role in the global COVID-19 response, in 2021 we moved forward in developing our next strategy in collaboration with the Board and aggressively ramped up efforts to mobilize resources in an increasingly competitive environment,” Dr Duneton added. “I believe we are well prepared as an organization to meet the challenges ahead.”

Media contact

For more information and media requests:

Hervé Verhoosel

Mobile: +44 77 29 618 634

Email: verhooselh@unitaid.who.int

Unitaid Secretariat Management Response to Unitaid 2017-2021 Strategy Review

Landscape report launched on novel technologies for the prevention of HIV, STIs, and unintended pregnancy

Geneva – Emerging technologies that can prevent HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies through a single administration method have the potential to respond better to user preferences, simplify service delivery, alleviate stigma, and reduce health risks. Currently, over two dozen of these tools, called multipurpose prevention technologies, are in development, demonstrating the opportunity to accelerate health impact and help achieve global health targets, according to a new landscape report jointly launched today by Unitaid, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and the Initiative for Multipurpose Prevention Technologies.

From 2018 to 2020, the number of new HIV infections per year showed limited decrease. Women and girls are at heightened risk of infection in many parts of the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where they made up 63% of all new infections in 2020. In addition, more than 200 million women in low- and middle-income countries who want to avoid pregnancy do not have access to modern methods of contraception.

Innovations that better address user preferences are critical to respond to these challenges. Globally, the preference for interventions that respond to several needs versus single indication products prevails across populations and geographies. The preference for multipurpose products even appears to outweigh preference for a particular delivery type, such as intravaginal rings, gels, implants, and oral pills. However, preferences for specific attributes vary, highlighting the importance of advancing a robust pipeline that offers a range of choices.

The landscape report provides an overview of the current novel technologies in development and assesses their relevance and potential in low- and middle-income countries. While the pipeline is rich, the report calls out the need to involve key populations early in the design, introduction and scale-up of new products and proactively address potential market barriers. These considerations, as well as plans for adoption, manufacturing capacity, a broad supply base and an effective introduction strategy are crucial to developing solutions that are accessible, affordable, and acceptable and truly respond to people’s needs.

  • Access the multipurpose prevention technologies landscape here

Media contact

For more information and media requests:

Maggie Zander

Communications officer

Mobile: +41 79 593 17 74

Email: zanderm@unitaid.who.int