Sharing a stage with world leaders in Montreal today, the new Secretary of State for International Development, Priti Patel, made her first major announcement: an increased contribution from the UK to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria of £1.1 billion.
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The commitment, announced at the Fund’s Fifth Replenishment Pledging Conference in Canada, will play an essential role in saving 8 million more lives over just the next three years, on top of the 20m lives already saved by the Fund. It will also avert 41 million new infections across the three diseases.
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Given that over 75% of all international financing for TB comes through the Global Fund this replenishment was a pivotal moment for efforts towards ending the TB epidemic in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Created in 2002, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is the principal international financing institution working towards the end of the epidemics. To date, its investments have led to a one-third decline in deaths from the three diseases in countries where it invests.
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Working with counterparts from the APPGs on Malaria and NTDs and on HIV/AIDS, and the Global TB Caucus, the APPG on Global Tuberculosis has – over a number of months – been working to engage the government on this issue and we very much welcome this announcement which recommits the UK as a global leader in the fight against the leading infectious killers.