Vision
the promotion of efficient and sustainable policies for improved global health systems worldwide.
the promotion of efficient and sustainable policies for improved global health systems worldwide.
UNITE is a global network of parliamentarians committed towards the promotion of efficient and sustainable policies for improved global health systems worldwide, in alignment with the UN SDGs.
INSPIRE, CONNECT, EMPOWER! We reject all forms of violation of human rights, stigma, and discrimination.
Considering the current global health crisis and consequences it has triggered around the world, UNITE’s activity follows a matrixed approach to global health, working with parliamentarians and partners to accelerate action taken with a focus on three cross-cutting priority areas:
UNITE is committed to support parliamentarians’ work at the global, regional, and national level, to make sure no life is limited by infectious diseases and to promote efficient and sustainable policies for improved global health systems worldwide.
UNITE’s ambition of influencing and promoting global health policies is mainly manifested in the work developed by its policy desks, where UNITE’s theory of change is directly applied in a day-to-day basis. In collaboration with strategic partners, UNITE’s policy desks are a hub of exchange between champion parliamentarians and civil society organizations advocating for policy reform where windows of opportunity open. The policy desks provide policy making guidance and/or directives on how to concretely impact and improve a specific area of policy.
President & Founder of UNITE
Dear Members and Stakeholders,
As we usher into 2024, I want to extend my gratitude for your commitment to our shared mission in Global Health. While the past year presented unprecedented challenges globally, resilience and dedication of the main actors in Global Health have been nothing short of inspiring.
In the face of a challenging political landscape, our collective efforts have not only weathered the storm but have laid the foundation for a brighter future for Global Health. As we navigate the complexities, this year we have UNITE’s Global Health Summit in partnership with the World Health Summit in Berlin where we should address pressing issues, and where your steadfast support remains our greatest asset.
The political context surrounding us demands courage, innovation, and collaboration. We are confronted with obstacles that require us to rise above, UNITE in our pursuit of positive change in Global Health. It is precisely during these testing times that the true strength of our network of parliamentarians shines and through which we can work for the wellbeing of all citizens, everywhere.
I am optimistic about the enormous potential this year holds for our members and stakeholders. The opportunities for growth, collaboration, and innovation are vast, and I am confident that our collective efforts will yield remarkable results.
Thank you for being an integral part of our community and network. Wishing you a year filled with resilience, progress, and shared triumphs.
For the sick. For the healthy. For all those who parliamentarians represent. It’s time to UNITE.
Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite
President & Founder
UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), is the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services over 1.5 million individuals in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe and is a global leader in health policy advocacy.
Fondation Botnar is a philanthropic foundation championing the potential of AI and digital technologies to improve the health and wellbeing of young people living in growing cities around the world. By supporting research, investing in innovative projects, and bringing together key voices, Botnar is working to build a world where every young person can thrive.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) launched at Davos in 2017, is an innovative global partnership, working to stimulate and accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and enable access to these vaccines for people during outbreaks.
The Civil Society Forum on Drugs (CSFD) is an expert group to the European Commission. Its membership comprises 45 civil society organisations coming from across Europe and representing a variety of fields of drug policy, and a variety of stances within those fields. Its purpose is to provide a broad platform for a structured dialogue between the Commission and the European civil society which supports drug policy formulation and implementation through practical advice. The momentum for the CSFD’s formation can be traced back to the Green Paper on the Role of Civil Society in Drugs Policy in the European Union (EU Green Paper Reference). Overall, the CSFD is governed by a core group, comprising the four Chairs of the working groups, along with a Chair and Vice-Chair of the forum itself, again elected by the members of the forum at the plenary.
FRONTLINE AIDS is a registered charity in England and Wales. It works on the frontline of HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment around world, working alongside different partners to reach the people most affected by, or at risk from, HIV. Overall, the CSFD is governed by a core group, comprising the four Chairs of the working groups, along with a Chair and Vice-Chair of the forum itself, again elected by the members of the forum at the plenary.
The Global Fund is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to attract, leverage, and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and to support attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations.
The Panel for a Global Public Health Convention is a coalition of global leaders working to strengthen the ability of the world to prevent, prepare, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks before they become widespread pandemics. The Panel was formed in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harm Reduction International is a leading non-governmental organisation working to reduce the negative health, social and human rights impact of drug use and drug policy by promoting evidence-based public health policies and practices, and human rights-based approaches to drugs.
The Joep Lang Institute is a foundation based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, that has a particular focus on digital innovation with the vision to use this potential towards the overall goal of supporting individuals and countries to achieve UHC until 2030 as part of the SDGs.
The Open Society Policy Centre (OSPC) is a non-partisan and non-profit organization that engages in advocacy aimed at influencing public policy on domestic and international issues, including civil rights and liberties, criminal justice reform, immigration, public health policy, and the promotion of government accountability.
PATH is a global team of innovators working to accelerate health equity so all people and communities can thrive. PATH advises and partners with public institutions, businesses, grassroots groups, and investors to solve the world’s most pressing health challenges.
The RBM Partnership to End Malaria is the global platform for coordinated action against malaria. It mobilises for action and resources and forges consensus among Partners. It was launched in 1998 by WHO, UNICEF, UNDP and the World Bank in an effort to provide a coordinated global response to the disease.RBM’s overall strategy aims to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality by reaching universal coverage and strengthening health systems. The RBM Partnership Secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Geneva, Switzerland.
STOPAIDS is a membership network with a distinguished thirty-five year history of engagement on international development and HIV and AIDS. STOPAIDS engages at the global level through involvement/co-hosting of global civil society coalitions and platforms, and directly influences key global processes and multilaterals/partnerships. STOPAIDS also works with or sit on the board of strategic partners including peer networks and organisations that focus on global health, development, human rights and/or other key diseases or HIV co-infections.
Treatment Action Group (TAG) is an independent, activist, and community-based research and policy think tank committed to racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ equity; social justice; and liberation, fighting to end HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). TAG catalyzes open collective action by affected communities, scientists, and policymakers to ensure that all people living with or impacted by HIV, TB, or HCV — especially communities of color and other marginalized communities experiencing inequities — receive life-saving prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care, and information.
TB Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the discovery, development and delivery of better, faster-acting and affordable tuberculosis drugs that are available to those who need them. Since their inception in 2000, TB Alliance has led the global search for and development of new TB regimens, catalyzing the field and convening cross-sector partnerships to forge the progress that is urgently needed for better TB treatments.
The Global Drug Policy Index is a unique accountability tool that documents, measures and compares national-level drug policies. It provides each country with a score from 0 to 100, where 100 represents full alignment of a selected core of drug policies and their implementation with the United Nations recommendations on human rights, health and development, as laid down in the UN System Common Position on drugs. The first iteration of the Global Drug Policy Index was released in November 2021, and it evaluates the performance of 30 countries covering all regions of the world, for the year 2020.
Transform Health was formed in 2019 by seven organisations who saw the need for a concerted, long-term effort to harness the transformative benefits of digital technology and data to expand primary healthcare and avhieve the SDG target of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030. Their mission is to To build a global movement that brings together organisations and institutions across sectors who are committed to achieving UHC within the next ten years by expanding the use of digital technology and increasing access to data.
UHC2030 is the global movement to build stronger health systems for UHC. UHC2030 brings together diverse partners including governments, international organizations and global health initiatives, philanthropic foundations, civil society, and the private sector. UHC2030 also brings together partnerships, collaboratives and networks which focus on strengthening different aspects of health systems, and promotes mutually reinforcing action and sharing of information, learning and resources.
UNAIDS is leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Since it started operations in 1996, UNAIDS has led and inspired global, regional, national and local leadership, innovation and partnership to ultimately consign HIV to history. UNAIDS is a model for United Nations reform and is the only cosponsored Joint Programme in the United Nations system. It draws on the experience and expertise of 11 United Nations system Cosponsors and is the only United Nations entity with civil society represented on its governing body.
Unitaid is a global health agency engaged in finding innovative solutions to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases more quickly, cheaply and effectively, in low- and middle-income countries. Unitaid’s work includes funding initiatives to address major diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as HIV co-infections and co-morbidities such as cervical cancer and hepatitis C, and cross-cutting areas, such as fever management. Unitaid is now applying its expertise to address challenges in advancing new therapies and diagnostics for the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as a key member of the Access to COVID Tools Accelerator. Unitaid is hosted by the World Health Organization.
Wellcome is a global charitable foundation established in 1936, which supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone and curiosity-driven research. Wellcome is taking on three of the biggest health challenges facing humanity – climate change, infectious disease and mental health. Wellcome gives researchers the time and resources they need to make breakthroughs. Also, they work with policy makers, run advocacy campaigns, and form partnerships with other organisations to ensure everyone, everywhere benefits from advances in health science.
The World Hepatitis Alliance is an international network of organisations working in over 100 countries towards the goal of eliminating hepatitis by 2030. The network comprises civil society and community organisations across the world, who together lead the fight against hepatitis through advocacy, capacity building and awareness raising. The WHA is led and governed by people with lived experience of hepatitis and ensures that people with lived experience of hepatitis are at the heart of everything they do.
HIV stigma, discrimination, marginalization, and criminalization remain critical barriers to access treatment and prevention services, therefore slowing down the response and negatively impacting the well-being of people living with and affected by HIV. In the EU, stigma and discrimination constitute a huge burden to people living with HIV, especially gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers and their clients, trans people, people who inject drugs, people in prisons and other closed settings.
Increased, coordinated and sustained long-term investment in HIV research, development, and innovation, including towards the development of a globally effective HIV vaccine, must be a global health priority. Continued investment in HIV will allow for major strides in the vaccine field at large, for other infectious diseases, as it did for COVID.
Going through a pandemic of the scale of COVID-19 has highlighted the impact that infectious diseases can have on our daily lives. It is now clearer than ever that we cannot move forward in rebuilding our societies unless we place pandemic preparedness and global health security at the heart of the reconstruction, which includes the response to existing pandemics such as HIV, TB and Malaria.
Forty years on, given advancements in treatment and prevention, HIV can be perceived as a manageable chronic condition. Considering the increasing of life expectancy, it is fundamental to promote quality of life, with a patient-centred approach to HIV care. This includes services beyond HIV treatment, such as management of comorbidities, mental health and sexual and reproductive health.
Harm reduction is key in the prevention of HIV among people who inject drugs (PWIDs) and their sexual partners. Thus, addressing HIV associated with injecting drug use is one of the key challenges in the response to HIV.
FRONTLINE AIDS is a registered charity in England and Wales. It works on the frontline of HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment around world, working alongside different partners to reach the people most affected by, or at risk from, HIV. Overall, the CSFD is governed by a core group, comprising the four Chairs of the working groups, along with a Chair and Vice-Chair of the forum itself, again elected by the members of the forum at the plenary.
The Global Fund is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to attract, leverage, and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and to support attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations.
The Panel for a Global Public Health Convention is a coalition of global leaders working to strengthen the ability of the world to prevent, prepare, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks before they become widespread pandemics. The Panel was formed in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Joep Lang Institute is a foundation based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, that has a particular focus on digital innovation with the vision to use this potential towards the overall goal of supporting individuals and countries to achieve UHC until 2030 as part of the SDGs.
The Open Society Policy Centre (OSPC) is a non-partisan and non-profit organization that engages in advocacy aimed at influencing public policy on domestic and international issues, including civil rights and liberties, criminal justice reform, immigration, public health policy, and the promotion of government accountability.
PATH is a global team of innovators working to accelerate health equity so all people and communities can thrive. PATH advises and partners with public institutions, businesses, grassroots groups, and investors to solve the world’s most pressing health challenges.
The RBM Partnership to End Malaria is the global platform for coordinated action against malaria. It mobilises for action and resources and forges consensus among Partners. It was launched in 1998 by WHO, UNICEF, UNDP and the World Bank in an effort to provide a coordinated global response to the disease.RBM’s overall strategy aims to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality by reaching universal coverage and strengthening health systems. The RBM Partnership Secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Geneva, Switzerland.
STOPAIDS is a membership network with a distinguished thirty-five year history of engagement on international development and HIV and AIDS. STOPAIDS engages at the global level through involvement/co-hosting of global civil society coalitions and platforms, and directly influences key global processes and multilaterals/partnerships. STOPAIDS also works with or sit on the board of strategic partners including peer networks and organisations that focus on global health, development, human rights and/or other key diseases or HIV co-infections.
Treatment Action Group (TAG) is an independent, activist, and community-based research and policy think tank committed to racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ equity; social justice; and liberation, fighting to end HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). TAG catalyzes open collective action by affected communities, scientists, and policymakers to ensure that all people living with or impacted by HIV, TB, or HCV — especially communities of color and other marginalized communities experiencing inequities — receive life-saving prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care, and information.
TB Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the discovery, development and delivery of better, faster-acting and affordable tuberculosis drugs that are available to those who need them. Since their inception in 2000, TB Alliance has led the global search for and development of new TB regimens, catalyzing the field and convening cross-sector partnerships to forge the progress that is urgently needed for better TB treatments.
The Global Drug Policy Index is a unique accountability tool that documents, measures and compares national-level drug policies. It provides each country with a score from 0 to 100, where 100 represents full alignment of a selected core of drug policies and their implementation with the United Nations recommendations on human rights, health and development, as laid down in the UN System Common Position on drugs. The first iteration of the Global Drug Policy Index was released in November 2021, and it evaluates the performance of 30 countries covering all regions of the world, for the year 2020.
Transform Health was formed in 2019 by seven organisations who saw the need for a concerted, long-term effort to harness the transformative benefits of digital technology and data to expand primary healthcare and avhieve the SDG target of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030. Their mission is to To build a global movement that brings together organisations and institutions across sectors who are committed to achieving UHC within the next ten years by expanding the use of digital technology and increasing access to data.
UHC2030 is the global movement to build stronger health systems for UHC. UHC2030 brings together diverse partners including governments, international organizations and global health initiatives, philanthropic foundations, civil society, and the private sector. UHC2030 also brings together partnerships, collaboratives and networks which focus on strengthening different aspects of health systems, and promotes mutually reinforcing action and sharing of information, learning and resources.
UNAIDS is leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Since it started operations in 1996, UNAIDS has led and inspired global, regional, national and local leadership, innovation and partnership to ultimately consign HIV to history. UNAIDS is a model for United Nations reform and is the only cosponsored Joint Programme in the United Nations system. It draws on the experience and expertise of 11 United Nations system Cosponsors and is the only United Nations entity with civil society represented on its governing body.
Unitaid is a global health agency engaged in finding innovative solutions to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases more quickly, cheaply and effectively, in low- and middle-income countries. Unitaid’s work includes funding initiatives to address major diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as HIV co-infections and co-morbidities such as cervical cancer and hepatitis C, and cross-cutting areas, such as fever management. Unitaid is now applying its expertise to address challenges in advancing new therapies and diagnostics for the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as a key member of the Access to COVID Tools Accelerator. Unitaid is hosted by the World Health Organization.
Wellcome is a global charitable foundation established in 1936, which supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone and curiosity-driven research. Wellcome is taking on three of the biggest health challenges facing humanity – climate change, infectious disease and mental health. Wellcome gives researchers the time and resources they need to make breakthroughs. Also, they work with policy makers, run advocacy campaigns, and form partnerships with other organisations to ensure everyone, everywhere benefits from advances in health science.
The World Hepatitis Alliance is an international network of organisations working in over 100 countries towards the goal of eliminating hepatitis by 2030. The network comprises civil society and community organisations across the world, who together lead the fight against hepatitis through advocacy, capacity building and awareness raising. The WHA is led and governed by people with lived experience of hepatitis and ensures that people with lived experience of hepatitis are at the heart of everything they do.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), is the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services over 1.5 million individuals in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe and is a global leader in health policy advocacy.
Fondation Botnar is a philanthropic foundation championing the potential of AI and digital technologies to improve the health and wellbeing of young people living in growing cities around the world. By supporting research, investing in innovative projects, and bringing together key voices, Botnar is working to build a world where every young person can thrive.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) launched at Davos in 2017, is an innovative global partnership, working to stimulate and accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and enable access to these vaccines for people during outbreaks.
The Civil Society Forum on Drugs (CSFD) is an expert group to the European Commission. Its membership comprises 45 civil society organisations coming from across Europe and representing a variety of fields of drug policy, and a variety of stances within those fields. Its purpose is to provide a broad platform for a structured dialogue between the Commission and the European civil society which supports drug policy formulation and implementation through practical advice. The momentum for the CSFD’s formation can be traced back to the Green Paper on the Role of Civil Society in Drugs Policy in the European Union (EU Green Paper Reference). Overall, the CSFD is governed by a core group, comprising the four Chairs of the working groups, along with a Chair and Vice-Chair of the forum itself, again elected by the members of the forum at the plenary.
UNITE is a non-profit, non-partisan, global network of more than 450 current and former members of parliament from multinational, national, state, and regional Parliaments, Congresses, and Senates, spread in more than 110 countries, committed towards improving health systems worldwide by promoting efficient and sustainable policies in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Our global, non-partisan network of parliamentarians is divided into 10 Regional Chapters, each chaired by a parliamentarian leading activity in that geography. The UNITE Global Board provides governance for the organization and consists of founder Hon. Ricardo Baptista Leite, and Chapter Chairs for Eastern Europe & Central Asia, Western & Central Europe, Asia & Pacific, India, Middle East & Northern Africa, Latin American & the Caribbean, Eastern & Southern Africa, and Western & Central Africa.
The UNITE network was founded in 2017 by Hon. Ricardo Baptista Leite, MD, under the auspices of the UNAIDS Foundation. Hon. Ricardo Baptista Leite was both a member of parliament and a trained infectious disease physician.
Hon. Ricardo Baptista Leite believes that active political advocacy could help bring about the end of infectious diseases by 2030. This led him to create the UNITE network, which is now co-lead with seven global board members. Since then, the network has grown to more than 350 current and former members of parliament from multinational, national, state, and regional Parliaments, Congresses, and Senates, from more than 100 countries.
UNITE is a not-for-profit organization and does not accept funding from industry sources. UNITE’s funding comes from philanthropic sources and partnerships with other not-for-profit organizations.
The global board of UNITE consists of founder Hon. Ricardo Baptista Leite, MD, and Regional Chapter Chairs. The names and titles of the Secretariat and Chapter Chairs are included below:
Founder & President:
Regional Chapter Chairs:
UNITE’s network is unique as it encompasses more than 450 members of UNITE MP Network from more than 100 countries and is constantly expanding through new members who represent new geographies. Our network facilitates high-level networking and communication through a peer-to-peer approach, that is driven by our PRIME strategy. PRIME enables us to have tangible political impact through our work. Also, UNITE’s policy priorities focus on three cross-cutting areas, namely, human rights and equitable access to health, health systems strengthening, and global health architecture and security, placing UNITE as the only network of parliamentarians from around the world currently focusing on the global health agenda.
UNITE will achieve its goals through the implementation of its PRIME strategy:
The PRIME strategy ensures that UNITE’s focus continues to remain on creating tangible impact through active political intervention. UNITE’s governance model underpins the PRIME strategy, ensuring global alignment, co-ordination and consistency across all activities.
UNITE’s ambition of influencing and promoting global health policies is mainly manifested in the work developed by its policy desks, where UNITE’s theory of change is directly applied on a day-to-day basis. In collaboration with strategic partners, UNITE’s policy desks are a hub of exchange between champion parliamentarians and civil society organizations advocating for policy reform where windows of opportunity arise. The policy desks provide policy making guidance and/or directives on how to concretely impact and improve a specific area of policy. A secondary ambition is to expand regionally, recruiting chairs for unrepresented geographies and regional coordinators to support activity programs in these regions.
Success for UNITE is:
