. The Global Fund has helped to save over 50 million lives and reduce the combined death rate from HIV, TB and malaria by more than half in countries where the Global Fund invests. With the Covid-19 pandemic having a devastating impact on progress towards the eradication of these three diseases, the Global Fund's replenishment pledging conference in September was vitally important. Many UK allies responded to the call for action and increased their funding significantly. Our allies the US, Japan, Canada, Germany and the European Commission met the Global Fund's request for a 30 per cent increase on previous pledges. Several lower-income countries also did the same. However, the UK was unable to pledge at this time, leaving the Global Fund far short of its $18 billion target, which is needed to get back on track to end the three diseases by 2030 and help countries prepare to fight new pandemics. Whilst I welcome the political support that the UK Government gave to the Global Fund at the pledging conference, words alone will do little to secure our health against pandemics. We cannot afford to look isolated and uninfluential on the world stage, we must act. Failure to heed this call and stand by our allies damages our reputation and harms critical relationships with G7 and Commonwealth partners (more than half of the Global Fund's grant funding goes to Commonwealth countries). Lives and diplomacy at stake Furthermore, at a time when we must show a g){kind=link}
It’s time for the country to step in and step up the fight against killer diseases, says head of the Health and Social Care Committe
In his speech at Conservative Party Conference, my colleague the Foreign Secretary stated, “we don’t just stand idly by and watch problems happen, we step in to improve things”.
We’ve seen this most clearly with our support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion, but we must be alert to all problems that threaten lives, security, and prosperity – both here and around the world.
However, we are yet to step in and pledge to the seventh replenishment of The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund).
The Global Fund has helped to save over 50 million lives and reduce the combined death rate from HIV, TB and malaria by more than half in countries where the Global Fund invests. With the Covid-19 pandemic having a devastating impact on progress towards the eradication of these three diseases, the Global Fund’s replenishment pledging conference in September was vitally important.