[Yokohama, Japan, 25th August 2019] The Global Fund Advocates Network Asia-Pacific (GFAN AP) commends the European Union (EU) for their increased pledge of EUR 550 million for the Sixth Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). This renewed commitment of the EU represents a 16 percent increase from the Fifth Replenishment and was announced by the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk on 24th August 2019 at the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France.
The EU has pledged EUR 2,097,500,000 and invested in the Global Fund since 2002 and with this increased pledge, would have pledged over EUR 2.6 billion in the fight against the three diseases. The EU is the sixth-largest donor to the Global Fund and nearly half of all pledges to the Global Fund comes from contributions from the EU and its individual Member States.
“The EU and its Member States continue to be the world’s leading provider of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and this renewed pledge reiterates the strong commitment of the EU and its Member States in the fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria and the recognition the EU has placed in the Global Fund’s ability and track record in effectively combatting the three diseases,” said Dr Khuat Thi Hai Oanh, Chair of GFAN AP Steering Committee and Executive Director of the Center for Supporting Community Development Initiatives (SCDI) in Vietnam.
The International Development Cooperation Department of the EU focuses on Human Rights, Health and Education, among other priority issues, which are in tandem with the priorities of the Global Fund. The Global Fund not only invests in HIV, TB and malaria responses at the country level, it also contributes towards improving health security; promoting gender equality and addressing human rights barriers through its grants, and contributes towards sustaining and strengthening community responses and systems for resilient and sustainable systems for health.
“Since its inception, Global Fund investments have significantly contributed towards the empowerment of communities and civil society to engage meaningfully in responses for the three diseases nationally, regionally and globally. This renewed commitment from the EU along with pledges of other donors for the Sixth Replenishment of the Global Fund will continue to ensure our engagement in processes addressing inequalities in health,” said Daniel Marguari, Executive Director of Spiritia Foundation – a Global Fund civil society Principal Recipient.
This year, the Global Fund embarked on its Sixth Replenishment process to raise at least USD 14 billion which will contribute towards saving 16 million lives, cutting the mortality rate of HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria in half, and contribute towards stronger health systems by 2023. The unwavering support of the European Union towards Global Health and the role of communities and civil society in Global Fund programmes through the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment will present us with an opportunity towards the acceleration of progress towards SDG 3 through building and strengthening resilient systems for health; reinforcing health security; spurring domestic investment of USD 46 billion; tackling inequalities in health including gender and human rights-related barriers to access; and yielding a return on investment of 1:19 with every dollar invested.
###
Global Fund Advocates Network Asia-Pacific
The Global Fund Advocates Network Asia-Pacific (GFAN AP) is a platform of community and civil society advocates for a fully funded Global Fund. It supports community and civil society mobilisation in the areas of increased domestic financing for HIV, TB and malaria responses; increased donor contributions towards the Global Fund; and ensuring that policy frameworks on health financing take into account community, rights and gender issues. Please visit www.gfanasiapacific.org for more information or contact Rachel Ong (based in Singapore), Regional Coordinator at rachel.ong@gfanasiapacific.org, or Niluka Perera (based in Colombo, Sri Lanka), Communications and Coordination Officer at Niluka.perera@gfanasiapacific.org