Philippe Douste-Blazy

In an effort to fill a gap in the breakdown of health services following the earthquake of 12 January, the UNITAID Executive Board has approved the allocation of one million US dollars  this week to treat and feed 6 000 children living with HIV/AIDS in Haiti. The project will be managed for UNITAID by the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI).

The funds disbursed will be used for paediatric HIV care and treatment with a focus on diagnostic kits for Early Infant Diagnosis (EID), the introduction of Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs) (three-in-one pills which are easier to take and promote better patient compliance) and nutrition products such as Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic Foods (RUTF).

On the ground, CHAI is working closely with Partners In Health and products will, at least initially, be distributed through them.  Partners in Health operates in 10 hospitals in Haiti and also provides support to  the primary General Hospital in Port-au-Prince.

CHAI is also looking to expand their scope to work with additional partners in Haiti in order to expand distribution channels should this be deemed necessary. Every effort will be taken to ensure that the product is distributed to those most in need.

Before the earthquake, UNITAID was already supplying second-line AIDS treatments to patients in Haiti.

Paris Match, n° 3166, du 21 au 27 janvier 2010

Le calvaire du peuple haïtien n’a pas commencé le 12 janvier

Par Philippe Douste-Blazy, ancien ministre, Président d’UNITAID, Secrétaire Général Adjoint des Nations-Unies.

« C’est la plus abominable catastrophe à laquelle j’ai assisté, me dit samedi le représentant sur place de Ban Ki-moon. Nous ne pourrons pas sauver tout le monde… » Haïti, un des pays les plus pauvres au monde. Mais n’oublions pas que sa population, comme le prouve sa diaspora, regorge de talents. Et n’oublions pas qu’Haïti est aussi l’héritier d’une histoire glorieuse. Celle de la Révolution française adoptée et poursuivie outre-mer. Celle de Toussaint Louverture, premier général noir à avoir vaincu une armée coloniale. Celle du premier Etat libre issu de l’abolition de l’esclavage. Celle, enfin, d’une nation qui croit toujours à ces valeurs.

Reçu à la Chambre des députés, je me souviens d’y avoir lu une devise qui m’a fait prendre conscience des liens indéfectibles qui nous lient au peuple haïtien : « Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité ». Solidaires, donc. Les promesses de dons venues du monde entier sont évidemment source d’espoir. Elles soulèvent aussi des questions. Comme toujours après une catastrophe, c’est la désorganisation qui prévaut dans les premiers jours. Les bénévoles font ce qu’ils peuvent mais ne savent pas forcément où aller. La situation exige professionnalisme et planification.

La meilleure manière d’assurer cette efficacité, c’est de renforcer l’Onu dans sa mission de coordination. Nous devons comprendre que l’Onu est une organisation d’Etats, que sa seule puissance est celle que lui transfèrent ces Etats, et que les moyens des différents pays, forcément plus réactifs qu’elle, seront à son service dès lors que sa mission aura été pleinement définie. Mais la solidarité nous oblige aussi à voir plus loin, à comprendre que le calvaire du peuple haïtien n’a pas commencé le 12 janvier. Voir plus loin, c’est constater que 80 % des Haïtiens ­vivaient avant le drame en dessous du seuil de pauvreté. Voir plus loin exige de lutter contre les causes de la misère. Pour cela, il convient de restaurer l’Etat.

Des infrastructures, des services, des hommes sont encore debout. Il faut les aider et nous appuyer sur eux, leur connaissance du terrain, leur savoir-faire. Il convient ensuite de mobiliser les énergies internationales. Nous savons que l’apport de capitaux privés sera essentiel. Il convient aussi de maintenir les projets d’aide en cours avant le 12 janvier.

Nous avions avec le président Clinton des programmes sur place, financés par Unitaid. Au lendemain du tremblement de terre, nous avons décidé de les développer. Et il faut enfin que nos Etats assument leurs responsabilités, en particulier par le biais de l’aide publique au développement. Le projet de conférence internationale sur la reconstruction d’Haïti, lancé par la France et les Etats-Unis, ouvre des perspectives. Mais nous savons que cette aide publique sera difficile en période de crise économique.

Nous devons susciter des financements nouveaux, non conditionnés aux ressources budgétaires des Etats. Vaste programme ? Sans doute, mais pas impossible. L’élan de solidarité auquel nous assistons nous donne des moyens importants. Il doit nous donner aussi, et peut-être plus encore, l’espoir. L’espoir de voir Haïti renaître. Pour que les dizaines de milliers de victimes ne soient pas mortes pour rien.

Article by Andrew Jack in Financial Times (15 December 2009)

Nine western pharmaceutical companies face fresh pressure to ease control over their HIV medicines following the establishment of an international mechanism designed to increase treatment access in the developing world.

The board of Unitaid, the French-backed health funding agency, voted on Tuesday to create a “patent pool” to increase the freedom of rival companies to combine and sell almost 20 antiretroviral drugs to provide greater help to patients in poor countries.

Philippe Douste-Blazy, chairman of Unitaid’s executive board, said: “This is an historic day. Unitaid has now put in place a mechanism that will make medical advances work for the poor while compensating companies for sharing their technology.”

[…]

Read full article

UNITAID EXECUTIVE BOARD APPROVES BREAKTHROUGH PLAN TO MAKE AIDS TREATMENT MORE WIDELY AVAILABLE AT LOWER COST

PATENT POOL COULD SAVE OVER ONE BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR

Geneva, 14 December 2009 — Today UNITAID’s Executive Board made a landmark decision to establish a Patent Pool for AIDS medicines.  The pool, scheduled to start operating in mid-2010, aims to make newer medicines available in patient-adapted form, at lower prices, for low- and middle-income countries.  UNITAID has committed to provide start-up funds of up to US$ 4 million over the next year.  Expected savings exceed one billion dollars a year, which will make more medicines available for more people.

“This is an historic day,” said Philippe Douste-Blazy, Chair of UNITAID’s Executive Board.

“UNITAID has now put in place a mechanism that will make medical advances work for the poor, while compensating companies for sharing their technology.”

The Patent Pool will allow generic companies to make lower cost versions of widely patented new medicines by creating a common space for patent holders to license their technology in exchange for royalties.

This will spur competition and further bring down the price of vital new and effective medicines, giving hope to millions of patients.

Companies with which UNITAID has had consultations include Gilead, Tibotec, Merck and Sequoia.

UNITAID has identified 19 products from nine companies for potential inclusion into the pool.

The pool will facilitate the development of fixed-dose combinations (FDCs).

For some years now clinical evidence has revealed that these combinations are the best way for patients to access safe, effective treatment.

Until now, patents have created barriers to developing FDCs combining newer and more effective drugs from different companies.

Today, with the first concrete step in the realisation of the Patent Pool, the door is open for new FDCs to enter the market.

“FDCs are especially important in the treatment of children, who make up 10% of current treatment needs,” said Jorge Bermudez, UNITAID Executive Secretary.

“The Patent Pool will greatly help us accomplish our mission of scaling up treatment access, particularly for specific target groups otherwise neglected by the market – that is, children and people who fail on older therapies.”

The idea of a Patent Pool has been in discussion for a number of years.

In 2006, Knowledge Ecology International and Médecins Sans Frontières proposed it to UNITAID.

Today UNITAID has become the first international body to translate this idea into reality.

“Today is a good day for people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries,” said Nelson Otwoma, the HIV/AIDS community representative on UNITAID’s Executive Board.

“When my son was a baby we had to break pieces of adult tablets for him – treating him was guess work.

The Pool gives me hope that we’ll have better medicines to treat children in the future.”

“We’ve had enormous interest from companies and political support from numerous constituencies around the globe,” said Ellen ‘t Hoen, in charge of the Patent Pool for UNITAID.

“We’re now ready to move to the next phase – reaching agreements with companies to get the drugs out.”

A Memorandum of Understanding is being signed today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between Cyprus and UNITAID, said the government today.

The Memorandum was signed at 11am by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Ambassador Nicholas Emiliou, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Chairman of the Executive Board of UNITAID, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Mr Philippe Douste-Blazy as well as by the Executive Secretary of UNITAID Mr Jorge Bermudez.

By signing the Memorandum, Cyprus will be actively participating in UNITAID with a contribution of 2,5 million euros, or 400,000 euros per year over a six year period.

UNITAID is an international innovative financing mechanism, set up to accelerate the treatment of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in developing countries. Founded in 2006 by the Governments of Brazil, Chile, France, Norway and the United Kingdom, it aims at creating ‘healthy markets for medicines’ which will facilitate access to drugs and treatments in developing countries.

By joining UNITAID the Republic of Cyprus reiterates its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals and actively contributes to international efforts to address current global development challenges, it said.