London, 14 November 2022 – RESULTS UK is extremely disappointed that the UK Government has pledged an inadequate amount of funding to the Global Fund to Fight HIV, TB and Malaria as part of its 7th replenishment.

While the sum announced – £1 billion for the next three years – is significant, it falls well short of the £1.8 billion needed, and is less than the Government pledged at the Global Fund’s previous replenishment in 2019. The gap of £800 million will mean that more than 1.5 million extra lives will be at risk, 34 million extra people will be infected by the three diseases, and 1.3 million fewer people will access TB treatment and care. 

Since 2002, the Global Fund has saved over 50 million lives worldwide through its innovative and community-led programmes to treat HIV, TB and malaria. Over that period, the UK has rightly played a leading role in funding and supporting the Global Fund, contributing over £4.4 billion. However, the Government’s latest pledge represents an unprecedented cut and a dereliction of duty to those people living with HIV, TB and malaria worldwide.  

The statement by the Development Minister, the Rt. Hon Andrew Mitchell MP, rightly acknowledged the importance of the Global Fund for achieving global health goals, building strong and equitable health systems, and fighting health emergencies such as pandemics. However, this statement was not backed by sufficient resources to achieve these goals.

RESULTS’ Chief Executive Officer Kitty Arie said:

“While there have been understandable pressures on the UK Government, including the cost of living and energy crises, the statement fails to recognise that the UK Government could have afforded a bigger contribution to the Global Fund had it not made decisions which have added pressure to the already squeezed Official Development Assistance budget and deprioritised funding and support for tackling poverty. The UK is the only G7 country apart from Italy not to increase its pledge to the Global Fund relative to 2019.” 

Funding and support for tackling global health challenges such as eradicating deadly diseases cannot simply be treated as a tap that is turned on and off. The decision to switch off the tap now puts progress that has been made over decades in further jeopardy, and the consequences of this decision are clear: more people will die needlessly of HIV, TB and malaria over the coming years. 

By making this decision, the UK has not only failed to live up to its responsibilities to contribute to global health targets, but also demonstrates to the rest of the world that it is no longer a reliable partner in international efforts to tackle disease and poverty.

ENDS.

Notes 

The Global Fund’s Investment Case for the 7th replenishment set out clearly the increased challenges of tackling the three diseases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which diverted resources and political attention and enabled the diseases to spread in communities facing lock-downs and reductions in access to health care. At present, without additional funding from global and domestic sources, the world will not meet its target to end the three diseases by 2030.

RESULTS UK has long advocated for the Global Fund, as one of the most effective multilateral bodies tackling major global disease threats. The UK has been one of the Global Fund’s most significant supporters since 2002. During the previous funding cycle, the UK pledged £1.4 billion.

Overall, the Global Fund’s 7th replenishment was a success, with $14.25 billion of the $18 billion target being raised at a pledging conference in New York September.  The conference host, the US Government, showed leadership in its call for an uplift in funding to address the increased challenges of tackling these resurgent deadly diseases. Many other countries including South Korea and Kenya also stepped up to the challenge of increasing their financial contributions.

As a major contributor in the past, the UK should have invested the £1.8 billion requested by the Global Fund in its Investment Case by the end of October. Its failure to do so will not only result in a reduction in international funding overall, but will also leave money on the table, since the US – the biggest donor to the Fund – is only able by law to invest a maximum of a third of the total cost of a replenishment. The UK’s low pledge amount has therefore deprived the Global Fund of an additional $1.36 billion contribution from the US.

HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria continue to needlessly kill millions each year, despite being preventable and treatable. The estimates given of the human cost of not providing the requested £1.8 billion and the amount left on the table by the US as a result of the UK pledge are derived from figures provided by the ONE Campaign.

Note that Italy increased its pledge to the Global Fund by 15% on 15 November 2022.

For media enquiries, please contact Naveed Chaudhri, [email protected]

RESULTS UK is a movement of passionate, committed, everyday people who together use their voices to influence political decisions that will bring an end to poverty. For more information please visit www.results.org.uk