UNITAID was created in 2006 as part of the global response to HIV/AIDS,Tuberculosis and Malaria by the governments of Brazil, Chile, France, Norwayand the United Kingdom as the “International Drug Purchasing Facility.”

Today it is backed by an expanding “North-South” membership, including Cyprus, Korea, Luxembourg, Spain and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation alongside Cameroon, Congo, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius and Niger.

Civil society groups also govern UNITAID, giving a voice to non-governmental organizations and communities living with HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. UNITAID is part of the Global Response to bring new, better, faster and more affordable medicines and technologies to those in need.

UNITAID Uses Innovative Financing to solve market inefficiencies such as gaps in the price, quality, availability, acceptability and/or delivery of health products. Through innovative financing UNITAID attempts to meet these needs and contribute to the global response to bring new, better, faster and more affordable medicines and technologies and systems to those in need. * UNITAID has raised over half of its funds in the last five years through the 'air ticket levy *

Nine countries have implemented the air ticket levy: Cameroon, Chile, Congo, France, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger and the Republic of Korea. Norway allocates part of its tax on CO2 emissions. The air ticket levy promotes South– South cooperation by allowing new actors from Africa and Latin America to participate in financing international development. ¹⁾

Tomeline shows Gates Foundation alliance in 1999 then GAVI and slowly a global “health” empire emerged.

Unitaid is an international organisation that invests in new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria more quickly, more cheaply and more effectively. Unitaid is a hosted partnership of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Unitaid researches and identifies new health solutions with potential to alleviate the burden of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Through calls for proposals, Unitaid finds partners best qualified to put key innovations into practice.

These partners receive grants from Unitaid to fast-track access and reduce costs of more effective medicines, technologies and systems.

In this way, Unitaid’s investments establish the viability of health innovations, allowing partner organisations to make them widely available.

Since its establishment in 2006, Unitaid has received over US $2.5 billion in contributions from donors. Unitaid’s main donors are France, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Brazil, Spain, the Republic of Korea, and Chile.

A key source of income is innovative financing, specifically the solidarity levy on airline tickets implemented by France, which was later adopted by a number of other countries (including Cameroon, Chile, Congo, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, and the Republic of Korea).²⁾