As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just announced at the seventh Global Fund Replenishment Pledge Conference hosted by the United States in New York, Canada will pledge $1.21 billion to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria. The Prime Minister also announced $100 million for the Global Fund’s COVID-19 Response Mechanism, which supports countries to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on programs to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and initiates urgent improvements in health and community systems. AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are devastating and deadly diseases that strike the most vulnerable and marginalized – including women and girls who are least likely to have access to life-saving treatments – yet they are largely preventable and treatable. The Global Fund is a collaboration between governments, civil society, technical partners, the private sector and people affected by disease to support country-led prevention, treatment and care programmes. The Global Fund’s commitment to a people- and country-centered approach has made it possible to find solutions that have the greatest impact. Over the past 20 years, 50 million lives have been saved through the Global Fund’s partnership, and today’s contribution will support the Global Fund in saving 20 million more. The work of the Global Fund and key partners such as UNAIDS and the Stop TB Partnership has been critical to increasing access to prevention, treatment and care for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world, and Canada will remain a steadfast partner in these efforts. Quotation marks “We are committed to leaving no one behind. The Global Fund is central to the global fight against the HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria epidemics—and is a critical partner in advancing sexual reproductive health and rights. Over the past 20 years, 50 million lives have been saved through the Global Fund’s partnership, and today’s contribution will support the Global Fund in saving 20 million more. Given the scale of the need, I encourage all partners to maintain their financial support to the Global Fund and other key partners such as UNAIDS and the Stop TB Partnership. This is a global struggle and only together will we be able to maximize the effectiveness of our collective investments.” – Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister Responsible for Canada’s Pacific Economic Development Agency Quick facts
The funding commitment announced today represents a 30% increase over Canada’s last commitment. As a long-standing, founding partner, Canada has contributed over $3.9 billion to the Global Fund since its inception. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada has also invested an additional $225 million in the Global Fund’s COVID-19 Response Mechanism for emergency funding gaps, such as COVID-19 testing, medical oxygen and supporting country needs. The Global Fund is Canada’s largest multilateral investment in health and a critical partner in meeting Canada’s ten-year commitment to reach an average of $1.4 billion in funding each year by 2023 to support health and rights of women, children and adolescents around the world. In 2021, the rate of decline in new HIV infections slowed. Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa have all seen increases in new infection rates. After COVID-19, tuberculosis is the leading infectious disease killer. The impact of COVID-19 on TB programs has been significant: In 2020, the number of TB deaths increased for the first time in a decade. A child dies of malaria almost every minute. In 2020, 241 million people contracted malaria, resulting in 627,000 deaths. Nearly 690,000 people died from HIV-related illnesses. and 1.75 million people were newly infected with HIV.
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