The solidarity dinner organized in Paris by UNITAID on 22 May 2013 brought together more than 400 guests, focusing on the theme “Solidarity will save the World”. This dinner highlighted the efforts of UNITAID, while also showing the importance of innovative financing more generally, including the tax on airline tickets, the financial transactions tax and other, more “painless” mechanisms.

As guest of honour for the evening, President Bill Clinton rendered a long homage to solidarity and innovative financing mechanisms for development assistance. He also highlighted the action of successive French governments while thanking UNITAID and hailing its effectiveness.

Alongside him, Philippe Douste-Blazy, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of UNITAID, called for a more comprehensive political action, including new countries and making it possible to extend mechanisms and their reach.

The guests included several French political personalities (Pascal Canfin, Alain Juppé, Pierre Moscovici, Christiane Taubira, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, François Bayrou, Bruno Lemaire, Elisabeth Guigou and Thierry Breton), as well as Ms Dominique Ouattara, First Lady of Côte d’Ivoire, and Valérie Trierweiller, First Lady of France. Several artists were also present, including filmmaker Luc Besson and actress Carole Bouquet.

Link to the UNITAID website

UNITAID recently published its 2012 annual report, “Results beyond investment”.
You can read it here