Unitaid’s Executive Chair calls for action on TB at UN High-Level Meeting
On 22 September, heads of state and leaders in global health came together at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis to get efforts to end TB back on track. The Chair of Unitaid’s Executive Board and former French Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Marisol Touraine, addressed the high-level delegation.
Her remarks are reproduced in full below.
Distinguished President of the General Assembly and Secretary General, Esteemed Director General of WHO, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor for me and a great responsibility to carry before you the hopes of all those who fight the daily battle against the scourge of tuberculosis: patients, health professionals, activists, scientists.
I want to carry the hope that the declaration this General Assembly will adopt will be rapidly implemented in tangible measures for the patients.
The hope that tuberculosis won’t be a one-day priority but will remain an everyday mobilization.
Now, if you allow me, I will use my privilege to speak in French.
[Translated from French]
The world is not sufficiently aware that tuberculosis is the deadliest infectious disease after Covid-19.
The situation is dramatic – just a few months of the pandemic were enough to undermine progress achieved over years of commitment: drug resistance is intensifying, prevention is inadequate and patients sometimes wait months for treatment. Every year, four million people are not screened because tests are still too complex and too expensive. Every day, more than 650 children die of tuberculosis. It’s unbearable because it is a disease of poverty, which strikes the poor and impoverishes the sick. But solutions do exist.
Our collective mobilization must therefore be equal to this challenge: we must guarantee equitable access to prevention and care. To this end, I welcome the General Assembly’s vision this year, which places the battle against tuberculosis alongside the two other health priorities of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and universal health coverage. On the condition, however, that these three debates converge and give rise to a common strategy because the battle against tuberculosis calls for a global and coherent vision, not only in scientific and medical terms, but also in social terms.
As President of Unitaid, I know that these challenges are within our grasp if we mobilize and innovate. Unitaid has become the leading multilateral funder of tuberculosis research and development. We work with multiple partners to identify innovations that will become concrete solutions for patients.
Our work has led to the launch of the first anti-tuberculosis drugs for children, and has helped to advance pediatric diagnosis of the disease by diversifying the type of samples used. We helped rapidly expand access to shorter, more effective preventive treatments by reducing their price by 80%. We have played a key role in obtaining technologies that can rapidly identify multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, and we have funded massive studies and clinical trials that are transforming its treatment, making it easier to take and less toxic.
This progress can and must be continued and amplified. Unitaid will continue to play its part, but everyone must play theirs: so that patients can be treated quickly, and so that the cost of tests and treatments can be brought down.
This challenge calls for more innovation, more cooperation, more mobilization. The fight against tuberculosis must be at the heart of a strategy to strengthen the provision of primary healthcare. Partnerships are essential, and in this respect, I am delighted with the work carried out between Unitaid and WHO. Cooperation with civil society and affected communities is crucial if we are to reach to those who need our support more quickly. Just this week, Unitaid has launched a call for proposals to fight multidrug-resistant tuberculosis through affected communities.
We need an effective vaccine, and I salute the efforts of the Gates Foundation and others to advance this development. Real progress has been made in terms of access to medicines: I solemnly call on the pharmaceutical industry to go even further and to make a resolute commitment to making their innovations accessible to all, in particular by renouncing secondary patents, which will enable a quality generics market.
So, to all of you – excellencies, citizens, researchers and activists – I say: there is hope, success is within our reach.
Let’s make today the moment that marks change.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation doubles its contribution to Unitaid to US$100 million over 5 years
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a long-term commitment of $100 million to Unitaid to bring faster access to health products in low- and middle-income countries. This funding doubles the foundation’s previous commitment and will support Unitaid’s work to accelerate the introduction and delivery of new lifesaving solutions at equitable scale, including those for maternal and newborn health.
The foundation highlighted that Unitaid’s unique approach helps reach the health-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals more quickly.
“It takes far too long for lifesaving products to get from approval to widespread adoption. For over 15 years, Unitaid has played a pivotal role in speeding up that process – developing new health innovations, then working with organizations like the Global Fund to get them to people faster,” said Bill Gates, co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “We’re on the cusp of exciting new innovations that will help accelerate progress on HIV, TB, and malaria, as well as maternal and child health. By doubling our foundation’s commitment to Unitaid, we hope to get these tools in the hands of health workers in time to save millions of lives.”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been a supporter of Unitaid since its inception and serves as a member of Unitaid’s Executive Board. Since our creation, they have contributed a total of US$150 million to Unitaid’s work to fast-track the development of lifesaving tests, treatments and tools and speed up access for the people who need them most. With support from donors like the Gates Foundation, Unitaid has unlocked access to more than 100 groundbreaking products that are now considered the gold standard for fighting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, improving women’s and children’s health, and strengthening pandemic preparedness and response.
Unitaid thanks the Gates Foundation for its ongoing support and the new funding, which will help us find new solutions to the most pressing global health challenges.
Read the full press release here.
Media contact:
For more information and media requests:
Hervé Verhoosel
Head of Communications and Spokesperson
M: +33 6 22 59 73 54
Presidents of Brazil and France call for increased support to Unitaid to speed up access to lifesaving health products
- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron, leaders of two co-founding countries of Unitaid, call for faster access to lifesaving health products in low- and middle-income countries and applaud new funding for Unitaid
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation doubles its support to Unitaid to US$100 million over the next five years
New York/Geneva – During this year’s United Nations General Assembly, world leaders, health partners and community representatives joined Unitaid to call for faster and more equitable access to lifesaving health products to advance progress on today’s greatest health challenges, including maternal and child health, pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
Millions of people in low- and middle-income countries are dying every year from preventable, treatable diseases because they can’t access the lifesaving health products they need. As the world saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, tests, treatments and tools are often either unavailable, unaffordable or arrive too slowly for the people who need them most. Unitaid was created to address this inequality, working with partners to make lifesaving quality health products accessible, equitable and affordable – fast.
“To overcome today’s health challenges, we must move faster, and be more innovative, than ever before. We must be transformative if we are to stop pregnant women and babies from dying for lack of simple treatments such as medical oxygen, and to finally end the epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Unitaid is leading the way by finding the most effective new health products and solutions to address the challenges that are holding us back. This is why France is proud to be one of Unitaid’s founding supporters,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
Since Unitaid was created in 2006, it has helped fast-track development and approval of more than 100 health products that are now considered the gold standard for fighting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, improving women’s and children’s health, and strengthening pandemic preparedness and response. Together with partners, it has lowered prices for lifesaving tests, treatments and tools and increased access for the people most in need.
“I was there when Brazil helped create Unitaid in 2006, and I believe this work is needed today more than ever,” said Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil.” “The world saw inequalities spiral during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unacceptable that the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people don’t have access to tests, medicines and health tools that we know save lives. Health is a human right. Brazil is proud to support Unitaid in its critical work to fast-track new health products and make them accessible and affordable for the people who need them most.”
In a world faced with rising health challenges, Unitaid’s solutions are needed more than ever. COVID-19 contributed to the deaths of nearly 25 million people and reversed progress toward global health goals, and it’s only a matter of time before we’re faced with the next pandemic. Hotter temperatures and changing rainfall patterns caused by climate change are pushing diseases like malaria into new communities. Tuberculosis, HIV and malaria still kill 2.7 million people each year and are becoming increasingly drug-resistant, making them harder to treat.
To help address these challenges, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced it will double its support to Unitaid to US$100 million over the next five years.
“It takes far too long for lifesaving products to get from approval to widespread adoption. For over 15 years, Unitaid has played a pivotal role in speeding up that process – developing new health innovations, then working with organizations like the Global Fund to get them to people faster,” said Bill Gates, co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “We’re on the cusp of exciting new innovations that will help accelerate progress on HIV, TB, and malaria, as well as maternal and child health. By doubling our foundation’s commitment to Unitaid, we hope to get these tools in the hands of health workers in time to save millions of lives.”
“I applaud the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s decision to double its financial support to Unitaid,” said President Macron.
Portugal and Spain also announced new funding this week. Unitaid achieves its impact by working together with partners in the global health community, including the countries and affected communities who identify challenges and potential solutions; the researchers and companies creating innovative new products; the implementing partners and health workers testing those products and solutions in country; the World Health Organization which uses evidence from Unitaid’s work to make policy and give official approval for the new products; and the governments and global health organizations like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) that buy the products and take them to scale around the world.
“If we are to save lives faster and attain the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, we will need to intensify our efforts to ensure everyone, everywhere has access to the health products they need to protect themselves and their families. The doubling of the financial contribution by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Unitaid is an important step. I also welcome the recently announced contributions to Unitaid by the Governments of Spain and Portugal. This support will help Unitaid find new solutions that will improve women’s and children’s health, fight HIV, TB and malaria, and address the health impacts from new challenges like climate change.” said Marisol Touraine, Unitaid Board Chair.
Unitaid’s unique approach of helping to introduce new health products and solutions, then working with governments and partners to take them to scale, helps reach the health-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals three years faster, according to a joint study of Unitaid’s work.
“I know the value of Unitaid’s work because I’ve lived it,” said Maurine Murenga, a Kenyan health advocate. “I remember what it was like to get diagnosed with HIV and not have access to medicines. To not have treatment for my newborn child. Access is a right. And Unitaid helped make that right a reality for countless people in low- and middle-income countries.”
Brazil and France will co-host an event with Unitaid in New York this evening, “Equitable Access to Health Technologies: The Key to the Future of Global Health”. Keynote addresses will be made by Dr. Nísia Trindade, the Minister of Health of Brazil, Mr. Aurélien Rousseau, the Minister of Health and Prevention of France, and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization. Representatives from communities, governments and global health partners will discuss new ways to speed up equitable access to new health products so we can save lives, faster.
Media contact:
For more information and media requests:
Hervé Verhoosel
Head of Communications and Spokesperson
M: +33 6 22 59 73 54
Universal Health Coverage
Equitable access to therapeutics for pandemic preparedness and response
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.
Media contact:
For more information and media requests:
Hervé Verhoosel
Head of Communications and Spokesperson
M: +33 6 22 59 73 54
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.
For more information:
- Learn more about Global Health 50/50’s 6th annual Report, ‘Workplaces: worse for women‘.
- Learn more about Unitaid’s 2023-2027 Strategy.
Media contact:
For more information and media requests:
Hervé Verhoosel
Team Lead, Communications
M: +33 6 22 59 73 54