HOW INNOVATIVE HEALTHCARE FINANCE INCREASES TREATMENT COVERAGE FOR HIV, MALARIA AND TB
Today’s major imbalances between the haves and the have-nots of the developing world and richer countries, together with the local and international conflicts of the 21st century, are pushing healthcare finance into a completely new era, where private players are also called upon to have a decisive role. Among the international organisations moving in this direction, UNITAID has achieved remarkable progress in a very short time: founded in September 2006 on the initiative of Brazil and France, with the goal of lowering the price of treatments for HIV / AIDS, malaria and TB in developing countries through market-based interventions, UNITAID already has a budget in excess of $1.3 billion, by including in its governance structure the UN, governments, private foundations (such as the Gates Foundation) and civil society, as well as a growing number of Member States. Denis Broun took up the post of Executive Director of UNITAID on 12 September 2011. Previously a specialist in pharmaceutical policies at the World Bank, and European director of Management Sciences for Health, he has worked in the fields of public health and health economics for more than 25 years. At Falling Walls he will shed new light on how to direct apparently contrasting interests towards the same global challenges.