GFAN welcomes early and ambitious pledge to the Global Fund from the European Commission
The Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN)* acknowledges and thanks the European Commission (EC) for its pledge today to the 5th Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Commission’s pledge of €470 million represents a 27% increase on its pledge to the previous replenishment of the Global Fund of €370 million. This is the first pledge in the Global Fund’s replenishment effort for 2017-2019.
“GFAN welcomes today’s ambitious pledge from the EC that paves the way for other world leaders to step up their own commitments to the Global Fund. This is an important reminder that it’s critical to fully fund the Global Fund. We must not just maintain, but increase investment to win the fight against these three diseases and build effective systems to deliver health services for all,” commented Joanne Carter, GFAN Steering Committee Chair and ED of RESULTS USA. “Other donors should now follow the lead of the EC, increasing their investment in the Global Fund to help change the trajectory of these three epidemics for good.”
The Global Fund invests around USD$4billion a year to support programs that are designed and run by local experts in countries and communities most in need. Since 2002, as a result of Global Fund investments, 17 million lives have been saved: over half of the 15 million people currently receiving ARV treatment for HIV are supported by the Global Fund, 15 million have been tested and treated for tuberculosis and 600 million nets have been distributed to protect families from malaria.
While there has been much hope and progress made in recent years with advances and gains there is still much work to do. The Investment Case report estimates USD$97 billion is needed in the countries in which the Global Fund invests. The USD$13 billion must be seen by donors as a minimum ask: the Global Fund can only do more, with more. Any outcome below this is unacceptable because maintenance levels of funding will not allow us to succeed.
The Global Fund Advocates Network hopes that other governments will also rise to the challenge of generating more resources to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
*The Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN) was established in 2011 to unite voices and efforts from all over the world to support a fully funded Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The overall purpose of GFAN is to build a global social movement to demand health for all by recruiting, connecting and mobilizing advocates to communicate the urgent need, and demand full funding for, the Global Fund to maximize its impact. GFAN brings together more than 440 members from more than 240 organizations in 76 countries in the global North and South.