Unitaid

“The next generation of breakthroughs should be measured the same way: by how quickly they reach the people who need them.” - President Bill Clinton, Board Chair and Co-Founder of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, at .

For 20 years, this has been Unitaid’s work: turning innovation into access, working with countries, communities and partners from HIV prevention and TB to cervical cancer and women’s health.

As leaders debate the future of global health at , Unitaid asks that reform be judged by one test: whether better products reach people faster.

https://ow.ly/9WSO50ZQE9u

20 years of turning health innovation into access.

As Unitaid marks its 20th anniversary, Executive Director Dr. Philippe Duneton reflects on what should remain at the heart of global health:

“The difference between a treatment that arrives and one that does not is the difference between life and death. Whatever the global health ecosystem looks like, it should be assessed on that.”

Created in 2006 by Brazil, Chile, France, Norway and the United Kingdom, Unitaid has spent two decades helping make new health products more accessible and affordable – from generic lenacapavir at US$40 a year for 120 countries, to 1.6 million women screened for cervical cancer, and TB prevention at US$9.51 instead of US$72.

As global health evolves, one thing remains essential: innovation only creates impact when people can access it.

Read more: https://ow.ly/6qaJ50ZQvMC

“Countries shouldn’t have to wait months before they can use new tools.” - Dr. Philippe Duneton

The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has highlighted major gaps in diagnostics and medical countermeasures.

Unitaid is investing up to US$3.4 million to prepare for access to promising new diagnostics and therapeutics, before they become available.

Working with Africa CDC, WHO, CHAI, PATH and The Aurum Institute, the investment is helping strengthen access planning and response capacity.

As global leaders prepare to meet in New York for the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, this is what preparedness looks like in practice:

Planning for access before a crisis demands it.

Read more: https://ow.ly/5H5950ZIcEk

Saving more children’s lives won’t always mean inventing something new. Sometimes, it means making better use of what we already have.

Pulse oximetry is a good example. It can help health workers identify children with dangerously low oxygen levels, but the device alone isn’t enough. It needs to be part of a system where referral, oxygen and treatment are available when needed.

As global health leaders gather in New York for , with maternal, newborn and child health among the issues in focus, this is an important part of the conversation: how do we turn proven solutions into everyday care?

For Unitaid, closing that gap between innovation and access is where lasting impact happens.

Read more: https://ow.ly/2i6t50ZIcb1

“TB is curable, but only if you catch it.” - Dr Neil Buddy Shah, CEO of CHAI

For millions of people, getting a TB diagnosis can be delayed simply because there isn’t a radiologist available to read their chest X-ray.

AI-powered screening can help change that.

Unitaid and Clinton Health Access Initiative are working with DeepTek and Delft Imaging to cut the cost of AI screening software by up to 65%, helping make faster TB detection more affordable.

Read how this could help bring TB detection closer to communities: https://ow.ly/OSlK50ZIaV5

What if Africa could be ready to produce new HIV prevention medicines before they become available?

Unitaid is supporting three African manufacturers to strengthen their capacity for the potential future production of alimatravir, a once-monthly HIV prevention pill currently in development.

Investing early in regional manufacturing can help lay the foundations for faster, more sustainable access to future HIV prevention innovations.

Read more: https://ow.ly/oh3O50ZIan7