Nineteen governments are committed to levying a tax on airline tickets as part of a new way to get money to treat people in poor countries for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, Frances foreign minister said Monday.
The Minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, heads the program called UNITAID which brings together countries, UN agencies, international organizations and others to tackle some of the worlds worst diseases.
France started imposing the tax in July, but 18 others have signaled they will join in, he said. They include Brazil, Britain, Chile, Cambodia, Cameroon, Congo, Cyprus, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Norway and South Korea, officials said.
– The first beneficiaries of the international tax on air travel to help the worlds poor will be 250,000 children suffering from HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, the minister said.
The levy is expected to raise about 50 million euros this year and 300 million euros in 2007, he said. In France, the tax championed by President Jacques Chirac adds a surcharge of between one and 40 euros to an airline ticket, depending on the destination and class of seat. The US, Canada and Germany have opposed the levy.
The tax is also already enforced in Brazil, Chile and Gabon, with several others to follow by early next year, but it has been fiercely opposed by airlines which say it hits them unfairly and will reduce tourism to developing countries.
But Douste-Blazy, who was elected as president of UNITAID on Monday, dismissed this argument, saying the tiny levy involved was unlikely to deter anyone. In all, 44 countries have joined the pilot group that set up UNITAID, which will operate out of the UNs World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva.
Acting WHO Director-General Anders Nordström said governments have given more money to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in recent years, but that the new initiative and other fundraising methods were needed as well.
– If you take tuberculosis, the estimated need is 3 billion US dollar (henved 18 mia. DKR). The majority of these resources needs to come from countries themselves, Nordström noted.
The long-term strategy of UNITAID is that predictable funding will create a demand for medicine against these diseases and thus spur the pharmaceutical industry to increase production capacities and lower the prices.
But, Douste-Blazy added, “it seems to me completely normal that the pharmaceutical industry should participate in the process not to make money, but to ensure that every person on the planet can be treated regardless if rich or poor”.
Herhjemme siger international chef i Folkekirkens Nødhjælp, Christian Friis Bach, at “flyskatten er et rigtig godt initiativ, der samtidig er et gennembrud i debatten om at finansiere løsningen af verdens problemer gennem automatiske og forudsigelige skatteopkrævninger”.
VK-regeringen bakker ikke flyskatten op. Udviklingsminister Ulla Tørnæs (V) har sagt, at denne type af skat kan komme til at udhule debatten om et bistandsniveau på mindst 0,7 procent af BNI for alle donorlande.
Christians Friis Bach mener, at det er et dårligt argument:
– Pengene fra flyskatten skal selvfølgeligt lægges oven i bistanden, og det vigtige er at finde nye og innovative finansieringskilder. Globale problemer er der jo desværre alt for mange af, mener han.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org og www.noedhjaelp.dk
