Strategic partnership to promote more equitable and sustainable health responses
Unitaid and PAHO improve access to essential technologies in the Region of the Americas
Established in 2006, Unitaid is an international organization dedicated to innovative health financing that works to accelerate equitable access to essential products and technologies for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries. Since its inception, it has helped expand access to priority interventions in areas such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and emerging threats to global health, benefiting more than 170 million people in over 100 countries.
Based in Geneva and hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO), Unitaid brings together donor governments, implementing countries, and representatives of affected communities in its governance structure. Funded primarily through public contributions, it operates using a strategic, catalytic investment model that identifies critical barriers to access and promotes sustainable solutions aimed at reducing costs, strengthening markets, and facilitating the adoption of essential technologies by health systems.
The partnership between Unitaid and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is a strategic collaboration combining catalytic financing, technical cooperation, and a shared vision to close gaps in access to health care in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Promoting innovative solutions to address HIV, syphilis, hepatitis, and Chagas disease in the Region of the Americas
As part of this partnership, Unitaid and PAHO are promoting priority initiatives aimed at strengthening the response to public health challenges in the Region of the Americas.
One of these initiatives focuses on reducing preventable deaths associated with HIV infection; in this regard, progress has been made in 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean by strengthening the capacity of health systems to improve the early diagnosis and management of opportunistic infections, and by implementing care models tailored to vulnerable population groups. The project, launched in 2024, promotes the introduction of point-of-care CD4 lymphocyte tests and rapid diagnostic tests for tuberculosis, histoplasmosis, and cryptococcosis, and facilitates access to essential medicines – including new treatment regimens for tuberculosis, and liposomal amphotericin B and flucytosine for fungal infections – through donations and the use of PAHO’s Regional Revolving Fund for Strategic Public Health Supplies (known as the Strategic Fund). The initiative also encompasses implementation studies, updates to clinical guidelines, continuing training, and community engagement to ensure a robust and sustainable response.
Another initiative, CUIDA Chagas – funded by Unitaid and implemented by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation with support from PAHO – aims to help eliminate congenital transmission of Chagas disease in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Paraguay. It integrates research, innovation, and the generation of evidence to expand access to diagnosis, treatment, and comprehensive care, validate new diagnostic tools, and promote market conditions that foster equitable and sustainable access to innovative products.
In addition, as part of PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative, Unitaid has provided financial resources to support PAHO’s efforts to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, Chagas disease, and hepatitis B, contributing to tangible results in the Region, including validation of elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Brazil by 2025.
Thanks to its ability to mobilize resources, promote demonstration projects, and generate evidence in historically underserved areas – such as advanced HIV disease, and Chagas disease – the alliance has made it possible to introduce priority innovations, generate actionable knowledge in real-world settings, and strengthen market conditions that facilitate sustainable access to essential products and technologies in the Region.
This combination of high-impact strategic investment, a long-term vision, and a commitment to equity consolidates Unitaid’s role as a key partner of PAHO in reducing health inequalities in the Region of the Americas.