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FROM THE FIELD

How air travel can help combat Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV and AIDS
25 Mar 2009 08:38:31 GMT
 Source: World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe office (MEERO)
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The 6th Millenium Development Goal talks about combating Malaria, Tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS.
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The 6th Millenium Development Goal talks about combating Malaria, Tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS.
World Vision MEERO, http://meero.worldvision.org

Background

•  AIDS in E.Europe/C.Asia

•  AIDS pandemic

•  Health and diseases

•  Children

•  Malaria

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Innovative solutions to generate funds towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals are needed now more than ever as the global economic downturn squeezes development budgets the world over.

Towards that end, the World Vision Romania Foundation, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Romanian Ministry for Foreign Affairs recently launched a debate in Bucharest on implementing 'UNITAID' in Romania.

UNITAID is an international drug purchase facility, established to provide long-term, sustainable and predictable funding to increase access and reduce prices of quality drugs and diagnostics for the treatment of HIV and AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis in developing countries.

The drug purchase facility is funded using innovative mechanisms like placing a small 'tax' on air travel to go help combat diseases of poverty. As an economically neutral tool the tax on air tickets was considered the most suitable instrument, according to UNITAID.

Right now, a plane that flies between Paris and Bucharest with 300 passengers on board can provide anti-retroviral drugs for 60 HIV-positive children or treatment for tuberculosis for an entire year.

As a member of the European Union, Romania is required to offer funds to help other developing nations. And, Romania is also home to more nearly 9,700 people living with HIV or AIDS and more than 20,000 people with Tuberculosis.

Romania was one of the 79 countries that supported the Declaration of 14 September 2005 on innovative financing for development, which encourages further work on an international solidarity contribution, but it hasn't yet implemented the UNITAID system.

Participants at the debate included representatives from World Vision, UNDP, Romanian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, UNITAID, Embassy of France in Romania, Stamp Out Poverty, UK. Romanian Ministry of Health and Finance and members of Romanian organisations working in development.

David Hillman from 'Stamp Out Poverty' said, 'Solidarity taxes are a good solution because they represent between 0,005% and 0,01% of the market value which doesn't perturb any way the market course'.

The French Ambassador in Bucharest, Henri Paul encouraged Romania to meet the responsibilities of a donor state and communicated that France supports World Vision Romania Foundation's initiative, as co-founder of the UNITAID system, in 2006, together with United Kingdom, Brazil, Norway and Chile. He added that Romania's initiative to launch a debate about these innovative financial mechanisms requires support from the highest political level.

'Romania's contribution to official assistance in 2007 was 80 million Euros', said Mihaela Rutjens, Director of Directorate for Official Development Assistance; Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She added that a debate about the possibility of Romania joining the UNITAID system is opportune in this crisis period and could help the Romanian Government to contribute to the fight against poverty diseases, with different funds than those from the State budget.

On April 9 a UNDP Roundtable in Bucharest will continue the debate. The Federation of development organisations in Romania will also launch the project, 'Why Romania needs a coherent policy of development?' in order to show where the Romanian strategy in international development can be improved.


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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Emergencies

•  Malaria

•  AIDS in E.Europe/C.Asia

•  AIDS pandemic

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Background information

Briefings
Malaria - [Who works where]
AIDS in E.Europe/C.Asia - [Who works where]
AIDS pandemic - [Who works where]

Topics
Children

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Last updated:Wed Mar 25 10:42:51 2009