At the launch of the Global Fund’s Fifth Replenishment, donors pledged over US$12.9 billion to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the next three years.
Latin America and Caribbean Constituency of the Global Fund Board, Nickolas Steele says he is “heartened by this extraordinary global commitment toward ending the three epidemics,” however, he urged that special attention be placed on ensuring that LAC countries in transition receive sustainable outcomes. He added that the Global Fund needs to provide appropriate support that is not only financial, but which requires a strong and capable regional team.
He noted that the allocation based funding model adopted by the Global Fund since 2014 is predictable and agile but it is still relying on the GDP and burden of disease indicators. To achieve the objective of the elimination of the three (3) diseases, there must be a re-examination of the policy of GDP per capita versus disease burden, he explained.
“These we believe are not coherent nor conducive to the New Strategy 2017-2022 vision of ending the epidemics,” he said. Steele noted that it is critical to protect the gains and to support countries already moving into the elimination phase by applying the catalytic funding in the most appropriate and smarter way.
“We need to give serious thought to the principle that as a country’s population progresses economically, it becomes more mobile and also risks greater exposure to HIV/AIDS in particular…let us acknowledge that we have a young population, for whom the perceived threat of HIV is not as frightening. If we do not address this we risk rolling back our gains” he said.
He also advocated that governments must commit to remove legal and other barriers to ensure full social inclusion and access to health for key and vulnerable populations.
Steele who is also the Minister of Health and Social Security, Grenada was speaking at Side Event at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) 55th Directing Council convened by PAHO and the Global Fund. The meeting was hosted to provide an update on the developments of the Global Fund in the Latin American and Caribbean Region.
At the launch of the Global Fund’s Fifth Replenishment earlier in September, hosted by Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, Canada increased its own contribution by 23 percent while many new partners pledged for the first time, and private sector contributions more than doubled.
The Replenishment Conference raised nearly $1 billion more than the previous replenishment conference in 2013.
The amount raised will save 8 million lives, avert 300 million infections, and help build resilient and sustainable systems for health.
The United States led the pledging with US$4.3 billion, approximately one-third of total funding. The United Kingdom pledged £1.1 billion, the second-largest pledge for this replenishment period; France pledged €1.08 billion, maintaining their position as the second-largest donor to the Global Fund overall.
Germany pledged €800 million, a 33 percent increase; Japan pledged US$800 million, effectively a 46 percent increase when measured in Japanese yen; Canada pledged $804 million CAD, a 23 percent increase; and the European Commission pledged €475 million, nearly a 30 percent increase. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged US$600 million.
Sweden Prime Minister Stefan Löfven addressed the closing session of the conference, and pledged SEK 2.5 billion. Norway pledged NOK2.0 billion, a 18 percent increase. Australia pledged $A220 million, a 10 percent increase. All pledges cover the coming three-year period.
Several low- and middle-income countries that are significantly increasing their investments in health also pledged contributions to the Global Fund, to benefit the broader work to end the epidemics globally, including Kenya’s pledge of US$5 million.
Pledges from private donors and innovative financing initiatives reached US$250 million for the coming three years, more than double from the previous period.
Guyana’s health sector benefits significantly from grant funding from the Global Fund through which it has been able to reduce its AIDS and Tuberculosis cases and carry out several programs to fight Malaria in the hinterland regions.
