Unitaid supports G20’s push for stronger health systems and greater access to health innovation as leaders convene in India

As the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting of India’s presidency convenes in Gandhinagar today, Unitaid welcomes the group’s shared commitment to improving access to health and strengthening cooperation to create stronger health systems.

India has set three health priorities in its capacity as G20 president: emergency prevention, preparedness and response; strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on access and availability to safe, effective, quality, and affordable vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics; and advancing digital health innovations and solutions to aid universal health coverage and improve service delivery.

“As a global health agency committed to tackling the barriers that keep health innovations from reaching communities in low- and middle-income countries, Unitaid commends the G20 on its efforts to foster inclusive coordination and address gaps in the global health ecosystem,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Unitaid’s Executive Director, during his intervention in Gandhinagar today.

“The Indian G20 Presidency, the World Health Organization, and member states have called on us to build on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure we have the necessary medicines and medical supplies needed to respond to global health emergencies.

“We must invest in research and development for therapeutics, small molecules and biological products, and work with both public and private initiatives, including the pharmaceutical industry, to accelerate the development of innovative tools and make them widely available in low- and middle-income countries. Unitaid commends India’s leadership and the G20’s efforts to address gaps in the global health ecosystem.”

Unitaid and its partners are working on a research and development roadmap for therapeutics to be issued before end of January 2024.

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Hervé Verhoosel

Head of Communications and Spokesperson

M: +33 6 22 59 73 54

verhooselh@unitaid.who.int

Global Health 50/50 report ranks Unitaid as a leader in gender equity

Unitaid is proud to announce its impressive performance in Global Health 50/50’s 6th annual Report, titled ‘Workplaces: worse for women’. Since 2020, Unitaid has been recognized as a Very High Performer, scoring very high on Global Health 50/50’s Gender and Health Index. The recognition demonstrates our persistent commitment to gender equality and diversity in the way we work.

Equity is ingrained in our values and principles, guiding every aspect of our work. We prioritize reducing inequities in accessing quality health products and services to achieve sustainable development goals. Our investments target tools, services, and care models that improve health outcomes and address global health priorities, with a strong focus on gender-related access issues, particularly for women and girls.

“Addressing inequity is central to our mission,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Unitaid’s Executive Director. “We prioritize investments and products that benefit vulnerable populations who face barriers in accessing optimal care. These populations vary across our focus areas, but can include key populations in HIV, pregnant women, people who inject drugs, transgender women, female sex workers, gay men, men and children with gaps in HIV testing and treatment, prisoners at higher risk of acquiring TB, vulnerable children susceptible to serious forms of TB, and pregnant women in malaria-endemic regions.”

In addition to prioritizing vulnerable populations, we secure affordable access to health products through innovative supply models, domestic manufacturing, technology transfer, and the establishment of an enabling environment for access, including intellectual property and regulation.

Unitaid recognizes the importance of collaboration and engagement with organizations and partners closest to the population with the highest need. By fostering inclusive and demand-driven partnerships, we ensure our funding supports context-specific solutions. We expect grant implementers to follow comparable standards, thus enhancing the impact of our collective work.

By increasingly engaging communities and civil society, we can help establish inclusive partnerships and foster an inclusive environment that values varied viewpoints, backgrounds, and experiences, thus empowering individuals and communities.

We thank Global Health 50/50 for their insightful research, which inspires us to continue working to make global health fairer and more inclusive. Unitaid remains steadfast in our dedication to equity, gender equality, and promoting access to health innovations for all.

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Hervé Verhoosel

Team Lead, Communications

M: +33 6 22 59 73 54

verhooselh@unitaid.who.int

Unitaid set to play a crucial role in meeting global health targets by 2030 through the introduction of 30 critical innovations

Geneva – The 42nd session of Unitaid’s Executive Board, organized at the Global Health Campus in Geneva, concluded with strategic decisions that reinforce Unitaid’s commitment to accelerating the introduction and adoption of vital health products worldwide. As a leading global health partnership, Unitaid remains focused on achieving ambitious targets and addressing emerging challenges in the pursuit of better outcomes for vulnerable populations.

The comprehensive performance assessment conducted this year demonstrates that Unitaid has effectively developed a diverse portfolio of investments. These investments aim to expedite the delivery of critical health innovations across multiple disease areas. By successfully executing this endeavour, Unitaid is well positioned to play a crucial role in meeting Sustainable Development Goal 3 and health-related targets by 2030, with the aim of introducing 30 essential health innovations that can be scaled up and reach people in low- and middle-income countries.

During the session, Unitaid’s Executive Board approved two new Areas for Intervention (AfIs), further strengthening the organization’s investment pipeline. The first AfI seeks to accelerate and promote the responsible introduction of new drugs and regimens for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). This initiative has the potential to revolutionize DR-TB care and transform the lives of those affected. The second AfI focuses on expediting access to tools for the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission (EMTCT) of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, and Chagas disease in endemic areas. Grounded in the vision of ‘Triple Elimination,’ this approach emphasizes the integration of interventions for HIV with services for other sexually transmitted infections, optimizing resource utilization and enhancing uptake.

“Upholding Unitaid’s capacity to deliver invaluable contributions to enhance health outcomes on a global scale is of paramount importance,” said Cecilia Kiku Ishitani, Vice-Chair of the Executive Board of Unitaid. “The decisive actions taken during the 42nd session of the Executive Board propel Unitaid towards its vision, empowering the organization to tackle global health obstacles head-on. With resolute commitment to achieving its new strategic objectives and fulfilling its mandate, Unitaid stands poised to forge a lasting and transformative impact on global health.”

Recognizing the need to sustain Unitaid’s capacity to deliver value in global health, the Board emphasized the importance of maintaining the highest standards and operating with agility. In line with the conclusions and recommendations of the Functional Review, the Board approved a strategic and pragmatic approach to adjust the resources of the Secretariat. This adjustment will enable the Secretariat to effectively and efficiently deliver on its 2023–2027 strategy, while retaining the necessary flexibility to address emerging challenges in global health. By fostering a learning culture and attracting the best talent and partners from all parts of the world, Unitaid will continue to drive transformative change in the global health ecosystem.

“Unitaid’s investments are strategically designed to accelerate the delivery of critical health innovations that advance the elimination of HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria, optimize the response to global health emergencies, and improve women’s health,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid. “The Functional Review validates the effectiveness of our diverse investment portfolio, making Unitaid better suited to achieve the 2030 health targets.”

Unitaid remains steadfast in its commitment to improving health outcomes worldwide. The decisions made during the 42nd session of the Executive Board propel Unitaid forward in its mission to confront global health challenges and make critical innovations accessible to those who need them most. With an unwavering dedication to achieving its new strategy and delivering on its mandate, Unitaid is primed to create a lasting impact on global health by leaving no one behind.

Photo Album:

Unitaid Executive Board Meeting

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Hervé Verhoosel

Team Lead, Communications

M: +33 6 22 59 73 54

verhooselh@unitaid.who.int

Unitaid-WHO partnership has advanced over 60 updates to global health policy, leading to unprecedented scale-up of game-changing health solutions  

Geneva – A long-standing partnership between Unitaid and the World Health Organization (WHO) accelerates evidence generation to inform rapid updates to global guidance. This partnership has helped speed access to vital interventions that include best-in-class HIV and TB medicines, cutting-edge malaria-fighting tools, and major advances in prevention and care of cervical cancer and hepatitis C for people in resource-limited settings.

Published as global health leaders gather in Geneva for the 76th World Health Assembly, the report outlines the impact of this collaboration in moving the needle towards achieving 2030 targets outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Health programs worldwide rely on the WHO to review data and issue guidance, enabling them to roll out new health products and interventions safely and effectively. The two agencies have developed a collaborative approach to condense the timeline required to ensure new tools reach countries as quickly as possible.

This process ensures that evidence generated from Unitaid’s work can be rapidly translated into guidelines and recommendations issued by WHO. Unitaid identifies promising health solutions and works with WHO to shape and inform investment ideas. Unitaid then convenes qualified partners to deliver high-quality research and remove access barriers to enable wide-scale adoption. Based on evidence generated through this and partners’ research, WHO issues updates to global policies and supports countries to scale up vital products and interventions.

Since 2017, WHO has facilitated the design and delivery of more than 160 Unitaid-funded studies. This critical research has underpinned more than 60 updates to health guidelines and implementation tools. National health programs and global scale-up partners then implement vital interventions that are critical in advancing the care for people affected by or at risk of HIV, TB, malaria, cervical cancer, hepatitis C and COVID-19.

“Since its creation, Unitaid has been supporting countries to access innovations that save lives,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO. “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.”

“WHO plays a critical role in shaping and informing Unitaid’s investment ideas. This ensures that evidence generated from our investments is rapidly translated into global guidance, leading to national policies which meet the needs of the most under-served populations,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid.

Access the report, Better Health Solutions, here.

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Hervé Verhoosel

Team Lead, Communications

M: +33 6 22 59 73 54

verhooselh@unitaid.who.int

Better health solutions

Unitaid’s investment case 2023-2027

Unitaid welcomes the reconfirmed commitment to health and wellbeing made by Brazil and Portugal

As leaders from the two nations convened at the Brazil-Portugal Summit this week, a memorandum of understanding was signed reiterating the countries’ shared commitments to universal and equitable access to health, and highlighted Unitaid as a key actor in global health.

The agreement outlines a common vision of the future in which health issues will play an increasingly central role in the well-being of the populations of their countries and in the strengthening of their national economies. They pledged to coordinate efforts so that the treatment of health issues is a factor in reinforcing relations between the two governments at the bilateral, bi-regional and international levels and renewed their commitment to health cooperation within the community of Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP) for the benefit of all its members.

Notably, the so-called “Carta de Lisboa” emphasizes the centrality of the World Health Organization in dealing with multilateral health issues and the importance of enhancing the performance of organs of the global health architecture, such as Unitaid.

“Unitaid commends the leadership of Brazil and Portugal in advancing collaborative and equitable approaches to health,” said Mauricio Cysne, Senior Advisor, Unitaid. “Strong partnerships such as this one are critical to enabling Unitaid to accelerate global health responses and ensure vital tests, medicines, and other health technologies reach people everywhere they are needed.”

Brazil was one of five founding members of Unitaid in 2006 and has been a strong ally ever since. Portugal’s commitment to Unitaid began during the COVID-19 pandemic and this support has carried over in support of the 2023-2027 Strategy.

Media contact:

For more information and media requests:

Hervé Verhoosel

Team Lead, Communications

M: +33 6 22 59 73 54

verhooselh@unitaid.who.int

Key stakeholders convene ahead of the G20 second health working group to strengthen global collaboration in research and accelerate regional manufacturing for diagnostics

  • G20 co-branded event was conducted by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, GoI, FIND, and Unitaid to discuss efforts for the sustainable development and manufacturing of effective, quality, and affordable diagnostic countermeasures
  • The objectives of the meeting inform the Health Working Group of the G20 Presidency, hosted by India
  • The meeting provides recommendations to the G20 and its Member States and international partners on the establishment of an R&D and manufacturing network for diagnostics

GOA, INDIA – 16 April 2023. The Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, FIND, and Unitaid co-hosted a high-level meeting to strengthen cooperation and enable sustainable development and manufacturing of effective, quality, and affordable diagnostic countermeasures prior to the G20 second health working group meeting, which will take place on 17–19 April 2023 in Goa, India. Stakeholders in attendance included representatives of the Government of India, G20 Member States (Australia, France, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Russia, Brazil, and observers Mauritius, Netherlands, and Oman), international organizations, and over 20 diagnostics manufacturers from around the world.

While inaugurating the event, S Aparna, Secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, said: “The centrality of diagnostics extends far beyond testing for a pandemic. Diagnostics are key to preventing and treating diseases optimally and, by extension, achieving universal health coverage (UHC). The Government of India is committed to ensuring quality, affordability, and access to diagnostics. We hope that the deliberations from today will be taken forward at the second Health Working Group meeting tomorrow.”

Regional development of diagnostics products through region-appropriate research and decentralized production of diagnostics can help reduce disparities, enhance health security, including pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capabilities, support UHC, and contribute to regional economic growth.

Sanjay Sarin, Vice President of Access at FIND, said: “The pandemic has bolstered the role of a more decentralized model for manufacturing diagnostics, one that combines global and regional manufacturing alike, in support of equitable and sustainable access to diagnostics worldwide. In line with the priorities of the G20, we believe that decentralized manufacturing supports the broader mission of expanding access to diagnostics and achieving UHC.”

The meeting built on a successful 2-day technical workshop on 13–14 April in Goa, India, organized by FIND and Unitaid and attended by over 20 diagnostics manufacturers from 13 countries. The workshop focused on the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of tests for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and the need to accelerate regional production of diagnostics in LMICs. It provided an opportunity for diagnostic manufacturers to deliberate on the enabling factors required for the sustainability of decentralized diagnostic R&D and manufacturing.

As a result of the workshop, manufacturers clearly stated their interest in establishing partnerships to facilitate the transfer of technology, know-how, and capacity building.  Manufacturers also highlighted the need for countries to develop national diagnostic strategies with concrete budget allocations and procurement frameworks prioritizing sourcing of regionally manufactured tests. They stressed the need for governments and development partners to continue strengthening regulatory mechanisms and to make clear commitments to facilitate harmonization and fast-track regulatory processes for regionally manufactured products.

Finally, in line with the India G20 Presidency goals, there was agreement that funding needs to be made available to create and maintain capacity for coordinated global manufacturing, R&D and technology transfer.

Robert Matiru, Director of Programmes of Unitaid, said: ” The problems are clear. It is now critical that we take bold action and prioritize innovations that drive the availability and equitable access to essential health technologies, including diagnostics. At Unitaid, we are committed to adopting a market-based approach to accelerate, expand and sustain regional production, and will work with our partners to explore all solutions towards building more resilient health access globally.

The meeting today provided an opportunity for diagnostics industry partners to put forward their recommendations to G20 Member States so that they can be taken into consideration during the G20 second health working group meeting which has outlined “strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on availability & access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable medical countermeasures — diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics” as a key priority.

Summarizing the discussions, Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary of the Department of Health Research and Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research said: “The need for diagnostics is immense. As we move forward into the second health working group meeting, it will be important for G20 countries to consider measures for greater investment in diagnostics, collaborative R&D, and manufacturing networks that complement existing efforts and strengthen local capacities, and address policy, infrastructure, and human resource related challenges.”

About the Department of Pharmaceuticals

The Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India focuses on the development of pharmaceutical sector in India and regulates various complex issues related to pricing and availability of medicines at affordable prices, research & development, protection of intellectual property rights and international commitments related to pharmaceutical sector which required integration of work with other Ministries. The Department’s vision is to make India the largest global provider of quality medicines at reasonable price. For more information, please visit https://pharmaceuticals.gov.in/

About FIND

FIND seeks to ensure equitable access to reliable diagnosis around the world. We connect countries and communities, funders, decision-makers, healthcare providers and developers to spur diagnostic innovation and make testing an integral part of sustainable, resilient health systems. We are working to save 1 million lives through accessible, quality diagnosis, and save US$1 billion in healthcare costs to patients and health systems. We are co-convener of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator diagnostics pillar, and a WHO Collaborating Centre for Laboratory Strengthening and Diagnostic Technology Evaluation. For more information, please visit www.finddx.org

About Unitaid

Unitaid is a global health organization engaged in finding innovative solutions to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases more quickly, affordably, and effectively, in low- and middle-income countries. Its work includes developing and funding initiatives to address major diseases such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as advanced HIV disease, cervical cancer, hepatitis C, and cross-cutting areas, such as fever management. Unitaid also recently deployed its expertise and capabilities to develop and deliver therapeutics (including oxygen) and diagnostics for the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as a lead agency of the Access to COVID Tools Accelerator. Unitaid’s new Strategy, 2023-2027 includes developing and investing in interventions to respond to global health emergencies and to transform women’s and children’s health. Unitaid is hosted by the World Health Organization. For more information, please visit www.unitaid.org

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FIND

Karishma Saran

Senior Manager, Advocacy and Communications

M: +41 79 823 49 18

media@finddx.org

 

Unitaid

Hervé Verhoosel

Head of Communications

M: +41 79 249 35 29

verhooselh@unitaid.who.int