Development Minister (): I would like to update
the House on the UK’s contribution to the Seventh Replenishment
of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the
Global Fund).
The government has no doubt of the huge value and importance of
the work of the Global Fund. The Foreign Secretary, the
Chancellor, and I, have therefore very carefully considered our
pledge to the seventh replenishment, balancing the needs of the
fight against the three diseases with the many other demands on
the aid budget. I would like to reassure the House that we have
maintained communication with the Global Fund throughout.
UK resilience, prosperity, and security depends on achieving our
global health goals and supporting other countries, especially
the least developed, to do the same. Countries with better health
systems and healthier people are more likely to be stable and
prosperous. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how health
emergencies can reverse countries’ economic and social progress –
and how global health is a field where international cooperation
is vital.
The UK is a leader within this. We joined with others to create
the Global Fund because we refused to accept the loss of millions
of lives every year to diseases that were both preventable and
treatable. It has proven its successful three-way partnership
model between the private sector, civil society and governments
and we are proud to have contributed over £4.4 billion to the
Global Fund, and as third largest donor, to have been an
important part of its success. Together we have cut the mortality
rate of the three diseases by more than half, helping to save 50
million lives, while improving access to prevention and
treatment, building the strong and inclusive health systems that
underpin all health services, and helping countries respond to
the COVID-19 pandemic which threatens all these hard-won health
development gains.
However, a child still dies of malaria nearly every minute. Nine
out of ten Commonwealth citizens still live in malaria endemic
countries. AIDS is still the leading cause of death for young
women across our Commonwealth and tuberculosis is a top leading
infectious disease killer globally.
We remain committed to the mission of the Global Fund. The UK
will therefore contribute £1 billion to the seventh replenishment
of the Global Fund, helping to save over 1.2 million lives and
partnering with others to support implementation of its new
strategy. This pledge is drawn from our current ODA allocation
and, as well as helping to save lives and prevent over 28 million
new cases and infections, this funding will also help to build
strong and inclusive health systems and support countries to
prepare for and prevent future pandemic threats, helping to build
a better and safer world for everyone. It will make an important
contribution to our priority of ending the preventable deaths of
mothers, babies and children, helping to provide medicine for
170,000 mothers to prevent transmitting HIV to their babies.
The Global Fund is without question one of the most highly
efficient and effective global health mechanisms in development.
We owe it to both UK taxpayers and the communities it serves to
demonstrate how and where the Fund performs with full openness
and transparency. I will therefore be drawing up a UK-Global Fund
performance agreement to help to reassure our taxpayers and
professional interests that a strong and sustained focus on UK
priorities such as strengthening health systems and putting
health equity, gender and human rights are at the very core of
the Global Fund’s work.
We are proud of our record in global health. We have for decades
worked at home and abroad to strengthen health systems, to
improve nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, champion sexual
and reproductive health and rights, improve access to vaccines
and fight infectious diseases. We are one of the largest donors
to the international COVID-19 response. We are a long-term funder
of innovation, developing new technologies, generating the
evidence to enable delivery at scale and promoting access for
those who need it most.
I would like to thank members across both Houses of Parliament
for their invaluable advice, interest, and support on this
investment.
