E-DRUG: 21st UNITAID Executive Board meeting - brief report from Civil Society Delegations
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Dear friends,
Please find below a brief report on the Civil Society Delegations'
attendance at the 21st UNITAID Executive Board meeting. It also contains
further information about joining our contact group.
Many thanks, and a Happy New Year to you!
Best,
Rebecca
Rebecca Shadwick
Liaison Officer, Civil Society Delegations to UNITAID Board
+44 (0)1865 472232 | +44 (0) 7879 474766 |
rshadwick1@oxfam.org.uk
Brief Report on 21st UNITAID Executive Board meeting
12 to 13 December 2013, Geneva
The Civil Society delegations to the UNITAID Board (representing
Communities affected by HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, and NGOs working on the
global response to the three diseases) attended the 21st meeting of the
UNITAID Executive Board in Geneva on 11 and 12 December 2014.
The meeting covered a range of topics, from organisational development and
reports, to funding decisions (which can be viewed in the published
Resolutions, available at the UNITAID website). The Board heard updates on
various partnerships, as well as on the Medicines Patent Pool?s recent
progress and current priorities. Among the updates was a report on the
Civil Society Engagement Plan, which is currently under development.
The Civil Society Delegations had two announcements to make. Firstly, they
will continue their work together, but have now grown sufficiently in
strength and capacity to merit separate host organisations and Liaison
Officers, starting in early 2015. This is, they stressed, not a ?divorce?
but rather a recognition of the growth they have seen over the past few
years and of the need to develop the independent voices of each
Delegation, and further engage their respective stakeholders.
Secondly, the Delegations announced that their Board Member was stepping
down, following the usual two-year service period in that role, and the
Alternate Board Member would step up into this role. Consequently they
also announced their new Alternate Board Member.
Resolutions from the Board meeting are available at
http://www.unitaid.eu/en/how/gov/resolutions/9-uncategorised/1404-eb21-resolutions
A full report on the discussions and outcomes at the 21st UNITAID Board
meeting is available from the Civil Society delegations? Liaison Officer,
to all members of the Civil Society delegations? Contact Group.
Any representative of a Community affected by HIV/AIDS, TB or malaria, or
of an NGO working to fight the three diseases, may join the their
respective Delegation?s Contact Group. Please contact the Liaison
Officer(s) at unitaidcsdelegations@gmail.com in order to join the Contact
Group, and receive a copy of the full delegations? report.
What is UNITAID?
UNITAID is an innovative global health initiative that uses its long-term
sustainable funding to support projects that positively impact the market
for medicines, diagnostics and other health products for HIV/AIDS, TB and
malaria in developing countries. UNITAID raises money through a
combination of levies on airline tickets and long-term government funding.
UNITAID also encourages innovation to ensure medicines are available in
formulations and combinations that are best suited to the target
populations and treatment conditions in developing countries.
What are the Civil Society Delegations?
The UNITAID Board has 12 seats, including one seat for communities
affected by HIV, TB or malaria, and another seat for NGOs involved in the
global fight against these diseases. Each board seat allows for one board
and one alternate board member at the table. Together, the Communities and
NGOs delegates to the UNITAID Board form the Civil Society Delegations.
For the past few years, Communities and NGOs Board Members have worked
together a great deal, though they constitute two distinct delegations,
each with its own voice and strengths. In light of this, and to further
develop, the Delegations will have separate host organisations and Liaison
Officers from 2015.