[Bangkok, 7th September, 2019] Global Fund Advocates Network Asia Pacific (GFAN AP) and the Civil Society for Malaria Elimination (CS4Me) applauds the renewed commitments from Private Sector Partners announced at the World Economic Forum on Africa held in, Cape Town, South Africa, for the Sixth Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund).
Goodbye Malaria, supported by Nando’s and other corporate partners, pledged ZAR 85 million (approximately USD 5.5 million) to the Global Fund to expand a grant that aims to eliminate cross-border malaria transmission in Mozambique, South Africa and Eswatini; while Project Last Mile, GBCHealth and Zenysis Technologies announced in-kind support and co-investments to increase the effectiveness of health programs through innovations and Africa Health Business to support the mobilization of African business which will total more than USD 23 million.
“The Private Sector has a key role in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria. As communities and civil society, we appreciate the focus private sector partners have placed in Africa through their new investments in the Global Fund which were announced during the World Economic Forum held in Africa. We also call on other private sector donors to further their investments through innovative private-public partnerships and approaches to eliminate the three diseases in Africa and join forces to achieve the 2030 targets”, said Olivia Ngou, Global Coordinator of CS4ME.
Private Sector donors bring crucial expertise and skills to the fight against the three diseases. Since the establishment of the Global Fund in 2002, the Private Sector and nongovernment donors have contributed over USD 2.7 billion for the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria. Further investments are also provided by the Private Sector partners through in- kind support such as providing technical support on supply chain management, data systems and integration, financial management capacity for civil society organizations among others.
“These renewed commitments from the Private Sector partners to the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment signify their commitment and ensure the fight against the three diseases is sustained. This is a clear inspiration and a call for other private sector donors to join forces to step up the fight against the three diseases. Communities and civil society in Asia- Pacific commends the private sectors donors of the Global Fund for their continued commitment to save lives”, said DrKhuat Thi Hai Oanh, Chair of GFAN AP Steering Committee and Executive Director of the Centre for Supporting Community Development Initiatives (SCDI) in Vietnam.
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 Private Sector towards GlobalHealth and the role of communities and civil society in Global Fund programmes through the Global Fund’s SixthReplenishment 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 successfully resourced 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.
Civil Society for Malaria Elimination
Civil Society for Malaria Elimination (CS4ME) is a global network of civil society organizations and communities contributing to malaria elimination and ensure that communities are at the center of malaria programs. CS4ME advocates for more effective, sustainable, people- centred, rights-based, equitable, and inclusive malaria programmes and calls for greater accountability, political will and action, resource investments, and sense of urgency to eliminate the disease and prevention of reintroduction. For more information, please visitwww.cs4me.org or Contact Olivia Ngou, Global Coordinator at olivia.ngou@cs4me.org.