Meeting with the Embassy of Switzerland – August 2022

India Working Group for Health Advocacy (IWG) member Daxa Patel and IWG champion Mona Balani attended a meeting with the representatives of Embassy of Switzerland to rally for the upcoming Seventh Replenishment of the Global Fund. In the meeting, IWG representatives emphasised on the importance of Switzerland as a donor to the Global Fund; Positive stories/ data from HIV, TB & Malaria verticals; Impact and influence of Global Fund on the lives of the most vulnerable communities; Key messages from India Investment Case and the need for Norway to step up and fund the fight for the Seventh Replenishment. In the meeting Daxa and Mona handed over the key messages from the India Investment Case (2019) of the Global Fund. They also shared a letter urging Switzerland to rally together with all stakeholders of the Global Fund partnership to advocate for increased pledges for the Seventh Replenishment of the Global Fund and encourage Switzerland to increase its pledge to the Global Fund for its Seventh Replenishment to reach the target of at least US$ 18 billion.
Switzerland has been a strong supporter of the Global Fund since the founding of the partnership in 2002, which was reaffirmed in the Dispatch on Switzerland’s International Cooperation 2017 – 2020. Switzerland’s cumulative investments of over CHF 285 million in the Global Fund to date has ensured that HIV, TB and malaria responses are delivered through investments in resilient and sustainable systems for health. In 2021, Switzerland allocated CHF 50 million to the Global Fund’s COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM) as part of a CHF 300 million pledge to the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a testimony of Switzerland’s leadership in global health.