PHA-Exchange> ANNAN LAUNCHES UNITAID TO HELP THE GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS AND OTHER DISEASES

[Claudio]

From: "Vern Weitzel" <vern at coombs.anu.edu.au>
From: UNNews at un.org

Describing it as a “life-saving initiative”, United Nations 
Secretary-General Kofi Annan today
officially 
<"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sgsm10645.doc.htm">launched 
UNITAID, an
international drug purchasing facility that will provide medicine and 
treatment against HIV/AIDS,
malaria and tuberculosis for the poorest people of developing countries who 
otherwise could not
afford them.

“UNITAID can use its purchasing power to leverage price reductions for 
quality drugs and
diagnostics, and accelerate the pace at which they are made available. It 
can provide a stable and
continuous source of financing for health care programmes, particularly in 
low-income countries,”
said Mr. Annan at the launch in New York.

“And it can help reassure developing countries of the long-term commitment 
of the international
community. In this way, UNITAID provides a real and immediate tool to help 
scale up access to
treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB.”

UNITAID will be funded by innovative financing mechanisms such as a 
contribution on air tickets, a
World Health Organization (WHO) official said today, and the 
Secretary-General congratulated the
Governments of France, Brazil, Chile, Norway, and the United Kingdom for 
leading the way in
developing the initiative.