GENEVA, 21 May 2019—UNAIDS and partners have launched a new initiative to leverage the potential of innovations to improve the health of all. The Health Innovation Exchange will link innovators to investors and innovations to implementers. Launched on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, the initiative aims to support global efforts to reach the Sustainable Development Goals.

“The Health Innovation Exchange is about connecting solutions to the challenges that health systems are facing,” said Gunilla Carlsson, UNAIDS Executive Director, a.i. “It’s about working in the partnership spirit of Sustainable Development Goal 17 and making innovations and investments work for everyone.”

To mark the launch the Health Innovation Exchange, a three-day event held between 21 and 23 May at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, will showcase 24 innovations for HIV, tuberculosis and health systems. The innovations include rapid disease screening technologies, games and quizzes for education on sexual health and sustainable solutions for the provision of and support for primary health care.

“We urgently need to accelerate the pace of diffusion of technological innovations to improve human health around the world,” said David Wallerstein, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief exploration Officer of the internet-based technology and cultural enterprise Tencent. “Important breakthroughs in new technologies are occurring at a rapid pace. The Health Innovation Exchange will play a critical role in bridging the most innovative technologies and entrepreneurs with the greatest needs around the world.”

The event will provide an opportunity to link developers and innovators with implementors and investors interested in health. Political leaders, health experts, nongovernmental partners and private sector representatives will have the opportunity to discuss the key benefits of the ideas and products with the innovators. 

To respond to demands from countries, over the coming months UNAIDS will facilitate country-level innovation exchanges in key countries. Those exchanges will identify specific health-related challenges and areas in which innovation and technology could transform access to health care.

All the innovations can be seen on the Health Innovation Exchange online portal at www.healthinnovation2030.org/.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.