Power in Numbers: UNITAID, Innovative Financing, and the Quest for Massive Good

The story of UNITAID begins with two world leaders but quickly becomes a lesson in popular philanthropy, involving millions of people each making a small contribution to a program aimed at treating and ultimately eliminating the threat of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the developing world. In partnership with the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI), UNICEF, and other organizations, UNITAID has pioneered techniques for raising massive amounts of money from a wide pool of donors.

UNITAID’s newest program, collecting small contributions via a check-box on the world’s biggest travel websites, launches in the United States in January 2010. It is a fascinating model for philanthropy, proving that you can scale up both the fundraising and the ambition of lifesaving treatment programs. Moreover, UNITAID has proved able to continue its work uninterrupted by the financial turmoil that has blighted other private and government aid programs. It provides a model for challenging times.

Launched as a crucial component of UNITAID’s “MassiveGood” substantial national publicity and promotion campaign, Power in Numbers is an inspiring case study for anyone interested in social justice, public health, philanthropy, or fundraising.

Philippe Douste-Blazy is the founding president of UNITAID, a new agency of the World Health Organization that has raised 1.5 billion to pay for treatments against HIV-AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in the developing world. Since 2008, he has been under-secretary-general of the United Nations and special adviser to the secretary-general on innovative financing for development. Prior to heading UNITAID, he was a professor of medicine Toulouse Sciences University, health minister of France on two occasions, and foreign minister of France.

Daniel Altman is an economist, journalist and writer. He currently teaches a course on the future of the global economy at the Stern School of Business at New York University. His previous books are Connected: 24 Hours in the Global Economy and Neoconomy: George Bush’s Revolutionary Gamble With America’s Future. He was formerly an economic adviser to the British government and a columnist at The Economist, The New York Times, and The International Herald Tribune.