Assembly of the Republic-Palace of S. Bento-1249-068 Lisbon

Draft Resolution No 228 /X

UNITAID

International Facility for Purchase of Medicines

The World despite all the technological development and advances in the field of medicine continues

witnessing epidemic phenomena that kill millions of people and diminish the quality of life of

many more who suffer from the consequences, whether direct or indirect, of these epidemics.

The UNITAID launched in New York, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, at

September 2006, by France, by Brazil, the United Kingdom, Norway and Chile has

coming to reveal an important player in the fight against pandemics by putting themselves on the side of countries

that, because they are more vulnerable, are also the hardest hit.

Its action has been geared towards combating the three most deadly pandemics, responsible for

about six million deaths per year, especially in developing countries:

 AIDS -Reaches 40 million people, from among whom 2.3 million children with less

of 15 years. Of the new infections 90% they declare themselves in developing countries. To

aggravate this situation of the six million patients in need of medicines

urgent only one million have access to the same to carry out the treatments

necessary;

 Malaria -Causer of one to three million dead a year (of which a child death

in every 30 in Africa), when effective and immediate treatment can reduce the

mortality in 50%;

 Tuberculosis- It causes two million dead a year, when it could be prevented and

treated in six months.

To treat these diseases is currently available on the market the range of medicines

necessary but that are not accessible to all the people that they need due to their

Assembly of the Republic-Palace of S. Bento-1249-068 Lisbon

high cost. It thus creates a double difficulty for developing countries that are not only

those most affected by the diseases behind referred to as are also those where there are larger

economic difficulties.

To overcome this difficulty arose UNITAID with the express purpose of finding shapes

of funding that, in a predictable and sustained way, allow to lower the price of these

medications and increase their offer without compromising their quality by creating an entity

who buys large quantities of these such medications, managing to get it down your

final price.

Such funding is done through a solidarity contribution on air passages

that has the advantage of being able to be implemented at the national level with a coordination

international.

Although it is an important source of income for UNITAID, allowing it to develop

Sustaining their activities together with the countries in need of that aid, the impact

economic of this measure in the acceding countries is not significant.

In fact and second data from the organisation itself:

 Air transport is one of the main beneficiaries of globalization having verified

from the decade of sixty considerable growth in air traffic that does not appear to be

affected by the application of this rate;

 The contribution of a few euros has a diminishing impact on air transport and on

the profits of the airlines compared to other factors, such as the

rise in the price of oil;

 The rate is without prejudice to the countries that practise it;

 Tourist destinations are not harmed;

UNITAID has achieved a great deal of acceptance at the international level with the recognition of the

its activities as an added value for the implementation of better health conditions in the

developing countries contributing to a strengthening of their social structure. In this

sense was the Declaration on Africa adopted at the G8 Gleneagles Summit in 2005, the

Assembly of the Republic-Palace of S. Bento-1249-068 Lisbon

Political Declaration of the General Assembly of the United Nations on June 2, 2006 or the Resolution

adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations of December 20, 2006.

In this way, in the regimental terms, the Assembly of the Republic solidarizes itself with the objectives

of this cause and recommend to the Government to ponder the accession to UNITAID, through the model that

consider it more appropriate to the legal and economic reality of the country.

The Assembly of the Republic considers that it is up to the Government to find the best form of membership

possible, whether it is through the increment of an airport fee, which can even be

included in the monies earmarked for development aid by the Portuguese state, whether it is,

through a common approach in the framework of the European Union and its mechanisms

own legislative legislation that allows to overcome some budgetary constraints or possible

problems related to the application of the above-mentioned airport rate.

Palace of Saint Benedict, July 17, 2007