Global Fund donors have pledged the largest amount ever for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.
Inspired by the ideals of partnership, shared responsibility and mutual accountability, donors at the launch of the Global Fund’s Fourth Replenishment have pledged US $12.0 billion for the next three years. It is the largest amount ever committed to fight against AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.
The pledges represent a 30% increase over the US $9.2 billion in firm pledges secured in 2010 for the 2011–2013 period. In remarks made at a pledging session in Washington D.C. on 3 December, several partners echoed the Global Fund leadership’s determination to attract further commitments during the coming three years in order to defeat the diseases.
A mood of optimistic determination at the pledging session at the Replenishment launch was captured in an opening address by Ambassador Samantha Power, the Permanent Representative to the UN for the United States government, which hosted the Fourth Replenishment.
“We can beat this,” said Ambassador Power, referring to AIDS, TB and malaria. “Good things happen when multilateral organisations and national governments work together with scientists, philanthropists and civil society. Good things happen when we share responsibility and good things happen when we never give up. Above all, good things happen when we value every human life and honor the rights and dignity of every human being.”
The contributions announced include funding from 25 countries, as well as the European Commission, private foundations, corporations and faith-based organisations.
President Barack Obama on Monday urged other countries to match the US pledge of $4 billion in order to secure the funding needed. President Obama said the United States – the Global Fund’s biggest donor – would uphold its challenge to pledge $1 for every $2 committed by others through September 2014. Consequently, as other donors make additional pledges, the US contribution could rise to a maximum of US$5 billion.
“The extraordinary generosity and commitment of all the partners and donors is very heartening to those of us at The Union, who have been fighting TB for nearly a century,” José Luis Castro, Interim Executive Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union). “President Obama’s support – and willingness to match pledges – provides an important incentive for all countries and donor agencies to step up and make this period a turning point in the history of TB, HIV/AIDS and malaria.”
Some participating countries unable to pledge at today’s session said that they plan to do so in the coming months. Several leading donors publicly announced pledges in the previous months, although a few did so just before the Replenishment launch.
Pledges from other governments include:
- United Kingdom: £1 Billion (US$1.6 billion)
- France: EUR 1.08 billion (US$1.5 billion)
- Japan: US$800 million
- Canada: US$612 million
- Germany: €600 million
Partners from private sector foundations and corporations
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: up to US$500 million
- (RED): US$40 million
- Other companies and faith-based organisations that made significant pledges include Vale, Ecobank, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company and the United Methodist Church.
In a press release, the Global Fund said that securing fresh resources for the next three years will help it move closer with its partners towards a tipping point in controlling these epidemics, turning what scientists call high-transmission epidemics into low-level endemics and making them manageable health challenges instead of global emergencies.
“We need a comprehensive approach," said Ambassador Power. "TB is the leading killer of people with AIDS, and 80 percent of deaths from malaria occur in just 14 countries. We have finally reached the time when we can envision a future where AIDS, TB and malaria no longer claim millions of lives each year.”
In remarks that closed the Replenishment launch, Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund, said: “The 21st century ideals that led to the founding of the Global Fund are now stronger than ever: partnership, shared responsibility and mutual accountability. In many ways, this is a replenishment of hope. It is a lifting up of the human spirit.”
“We’ve had a terrific beginning,” said Dr Nafsiah Mboi, Chair of the Board of the Global Fund, who led the pledging session. “I offer heartfelt thanks for the generosity of all partners in this effort. Now let’s go to work.”