50 Million Lives Saved

Ahead of its Seventh Replenishment Conference, to be held in New York on 21 September, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria recently released its 2022 Results Report. Since the creation of the Global Fund in 2001, the organisation’s programmes for the treatment and prevention of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria have benefited countless millions of people and saved 50 million lives.

However, since the last replenishment conference in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic and the armed conflict in Ukraine have brought other aspects of the Global Fund's role to the fore and underscored its capacity to respond to specific needs in emergency situations.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the armed conflict in Ukraine have brought other aspects of the Global Fund's role to the fore and underscored its capacity to respond to specific needs in emergency situations.

On the COVID-19 front, the Global Fund has mobilised more than $4.4 billion to support health systems in more than 100 countries to improve pandemic response by providing tests, new treatments, oxygen and protective equipment for health workers. By doing so, the Global Fund has shown itself to be responsive and innovative in one part of the response—the part not involving vaccines—in which it has clearly played a leadership role.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, where the Global Fund has been doing important work through tuberculosis and HIV programmes, $26 million has been allocated to adapt existing programmes to the country’s current needs, while an additional $15 million has been approved as emergency funding.

In a recently published performance assessment, this agility in responding to crises is cited as one of the Global Fund’s greatest strengths—and one which makes the organisation a key player in global health. The Global Fund is also the largest multilateral provider of grants for strengthening health systems in implementing countries, an area in which it invests more than $1 billion per year.

The successive crises of the past two years should serve as a stark warning that the progress made towards ending AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria can, in fact, be reversed. If we are to reach the goals set out in the 2030 Agenda—both for these three pandemics and for the other targets of Sustainable Development Goal 3 (ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all)—we will need to put in additional effort.

The successive crises of the past two years should serve as a stark warning that the progress made towards ending AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria can, in fact, be reversed.

This is why the Global Fund has set the goal of raising $18 billion at its upcoming replenishment conference. This sum will allow the organisation to start implementing its 2023-2028 strategy, thereby yielding a return of $31 in health and economic benefits for every dollar invested and contributing to progress towards all the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda.

Countries such as Japan and Germany have already pledged sums of $1.08 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively, towards this effort. Spain, too, is called upon to contribute. In 2019, after a decade of absence, our country pledged €100 million over a three-year period. In the coming days, as a sign of Spain’s commitment to global health—a commitment renewed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw us become the seventh largest donor of vaccine doses worldwide and the second largest in Latin America—we hope to hear that our country will be increasing its contribution to the Global Fund.