Canada Announces Pledge & Commitment to Host Global Fund Replenishment Conference

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today ahead of an event on youth and global health that Canada will pledge $785 million to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and host its Fifth Replenishment Pledging Conference on 16 September 2016 in Montreal. Canada’s pledge has increased by 20% from the Fourth Replenishment. This is the first time Canada will host a Global Fund meeting and will be the first major international conference held in Canada under the new government.

The Global Fund is a partnership of governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by the diseases and it currently raises and invests nearly USD$4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in countries and communities most in need. Between 2000 and 2014, in countries supported by the Global Fund, the number of HIV infections declined by 36%, the number of deaths from TB declined 29% and the number of deaths caused by malaria declined 48%. This contribution is one of the greatest success stories of the Millennium Development Goals.

Joanne Carter, Steering Committee Chair for the Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN) and Executive Director of RESULTS USA, welcomes Canada’s announcement on pledging and hosting the replenishment. “Today, Canada has cemented its role as a true global leader in health. As we now look to the pledging conference later this year, world leaders should seize the chance to make bold commitments to the fight against these diseases. All donors can build on today’s exciting announcement by making the investment required to push us toward the end of these three epidemics.”

The Global Fund is asking donor governments to contribute USD$13 billion for the 2017-2019 replenishment cycle. This level of funding will save up to 8 million lives, avert up to 300 million new infections across the three diseases and support strengthened responses for women and girls and human rights. Since 2002, Canada has contributed a total of over CAD$2 billion to the Global Fund’s fight against the three deadly epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

Loyce Maturu, a youth advocate, GFAN speaker and HIV/TB survivor from Zimbabwe was on hand today in Ottawa for the event: “Adolescents and young people with HIV face a lot of challenges, and this year world leaders can rally behind them with commitments to the Global Fund. I see the impact of the Global Fund every day in my work and in my life, and I’m grateful to Canada for your ongoing leadership in pledging and agreeing to host this important conference.”

Robin Montgomery, Executive Director of Canada’s Interagency Coalition on Aids and Development (ICAD) and member of the Global Fund Board’s Developed Country NGO Delegation, notes, “This is a decisive replenishment as it will help set the world on the path to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. We can end the epidemics by 2030, but if we do not act now with ambitious funding, we will miss this opportunity and undermine the progress we have made. We are in a critical time in the fight against HIV, TB and malaria, and this is Canada’s opportunity to ask all donors to increase their commitments to the Global Fund as they have to ensure a full replenishment.”

The UK, Germany and the USA have hosted past replenishment meetings.

*For media inquiries, contact Robin Montgomery at +1 613-292-9509 or rmontgomery@icad-cisd.com