The ACTION partnership thanks world leaders for the unprecedented commitments they have made to scale up the global fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

Today, world leaders gathered in Washington D.C. to commit a total of US $12 billion over the next three years to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the largest amount ever committed to fighting the three diseases. These pledges represent a 30% increase from pledges secured in the previous Global Fund Replenishment.

“This is an unprecedented starting point,” said Kolleen Bouchane, ACTION Director. “But it’s just that — a starting point. If we accept the challenge of U.S. President Obama to not leave U.S. ‘money on the table’, an additional $3 billion needs to be mobilized.” The U.S. pledged to contribute $1 to the Global Fund for every $2 contributed by other donors – up to $5 billion over the next three years.

A fully-funded Global Fund will allow the scale-up of lifesaving programs, including tuberculosis (TB) treatment. The Global Fund provides nearly 90 percent of international donor financing for TB, and its programs have put 11 million people on TB treatment. The World Health Organization recently called the Global Fund “essential” to fighting TB and beating back the spread of drug-resistant TB.

Highlights from the Global Fund’s replenishment among ACTION partners include:

  • The U.S. Administration will commit up to US $5 billion over the next three years – a potential $1 billion increase from the Administration’s previous pledge.
  • The United Kingdom made a historic commitment of up to £1 billion, more than doubling its commitment from the previous three years.
  • Canada affirmed its leadership in the fight against the diseases by increasing its pledge to CAN $650 million, an increase of 20 percent.
  • Japan committed US $800 million.
  • France committed €1.08 billion, maintaining its pledge level but only thanks to innovative financing mechanisms like the air tax levy and the financial transaction tax.
  • The European Union pledge of €370 million represents an increase of 12 percent over their previous pledge – although this is still less than ambitious given the EU is collectively the second biggest development donor in the world.
  • Australia pledged AUD $200 million.

A key highlight of this replenishment was pledges by recipients of Global Fund investments. India pledged US $16.5 million and Kenya made a first-time contribution of US $2 million.

“We thank world leaders for these tremendous commitments,” said Allan Ragi, Executive Director of the Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium (KANCO), an ACTION partner. “Citizens in countries that benefit from Global Fund investments will continue to work with our governments to ensure commitments reach the people who need them most and continue to save lives.