This blog post is by RESULTS Health Advocacy Assistant, Bruce Warwick. 

Justine Greening annocuing the £1 billion pledsge
Justine Greening announces UK pledge

If you’re a regular follower of our blog or supporter of RESULTS UK you would’ve been hard pressed not to notice that last week the UK announced their support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria with a pledge of up to £1 billion for the 2014-2016 replenishment period.

The World’s media certainly took notice and so today we share some articles on the announcement from RESULTS UK, our partners around the world, and some others that we particularly enjoyed!

A Historic UK Commitment to Make Three Diseases History, by Aaron Oxley, Executive Director of RESULTS UK

Our very own Aaron Oxley shared his delight in the announcement with a blog in the Huffington Post. Not only did he outline the successes of the past, but also made clear that this announcement “has taken us to an historic moment – a tipping point. Due to a tremendous progress we have made in the fight, with the newest technologies and understanding we have about these diseases, we can see the real possibility of their elimination as a public health threat in my lifetime”.

UK pledges up to £1bn to fight killer diseases in poor countries, by Andrew Jack in the Financial Times

Aaron made another appearance in last weeks media with a quote in Andrew Jack’s Financial Times article alongside none other than Bono who co-founded the campaigning group One. Jack recognises the importance of the UK pledge given that many countries are cutting back their aid budgets in the wake of the financial crisis. The article also notes the important caveat in the UK announcement, namely that the UK contribution is capped at 10 per cent of total international support to the Global Fund and so could be lower than £1 billion if the organisation fails to raise its $15 billion target from other donors.

We cannot turn our backs, by Maree Nutt, Executive Director of RESULTS Austrailia

As a result of the UK’s caveat (mentioned above) it is critical that other donors step up their game. Indeed, many of the articles call for donors such as Germany, Japan and Canada to up their game and pledge big to the Global Fund. These calls have also been directed at Australia. This brings us to a great article by Maree Nutt who says that the new Australian government cannot afford to turn their backs on the Global Fund.

Why I Welcome the UK Announcement for the Global Fund, by Andy Murray, Wimbledon Champion

One of the greatest British tennis players of all time also waded into the excitement of the UK announcement this week. Andy Murray, also writing in the Huffington Post, said that not only did he believe that the UK’s support was the right thing, but also a smart thing. He understands that these diseases can keep families trapped in poverty, too ill to work or learn and unable to plan for their future. Now, however, with the announcement from the UK, along with the others that came before it and those that follow it, the shackles of these diseases will begin to be broken. As Murray says, “as the diseases loosen their grip on the lives and livelihoods of men, women and children across Africa, people, businesses and economies will be healthier, stronger and have a fighting chance to succeed”.

There will no doubt be more media to follow which we will share across our social media platforms, you can follow us @resultsuk for twitter and at facebook.com/resultsuk.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of RESULTS.