BRUSSELS, 03 March 2016. The European Commission will contribute €470 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the period 2017-19. This was announced today by the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica.

Bono, lead singer of U2 and co-founder of The ONE Campaign and (RED), said:

”Twenty-seven just became my favourite number.  The Global Fund is the best tool we have to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and this 27 per cent increase shows real leadership by the European Commission. If others raise their game in the same way, we could save eight million lives over the next three years and deal a crippling blow to these three deadly diseases.”

This pledge, announced ahead of a meeting between the Commissioner and Global Fund Executive Director Mark Dybul, would represent an increase of 27 percent compared to what the EU is currently contributing to the Global Fund.

Tamira Gunzburg, Brussels Director of The ONE Campaign, said:

“ONE is extremely pleased with the EU’s pledge to increase funding to the Global Fund. The Global Fund is an incredibly effective mechanism in the fight against these diseases, and has saved 17 million lives to date. With this investment, the EU has shown that it is serious about reaching Global Goal 3, promised by world leaders just six months ago, and we expect others to follow suit.”

This year, the Global Fund is seeking to raise at least $13 billion for the next three year period (2017–19) to continue its critical work and to scale up the most effective new interventions in the fight against AIDS, TB, and malaria.

Today, deaths from AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have dropped by more than one-third in the countries where the Global Fund invests.

***ENDS***

Notes to editors:

• Contact, information & interviews – Andrea Ghianda // [email protected] // +32 (0)2 300 89 42 // +32 (0)471 89 64 22
• ABOUT THE GLOBAL FUND – The Global Fund is a 21st-century partnership organisation designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. Founded in 2002, the Global Fund is a partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by the diseases. It raises and invests nearly US$4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in countries and communities most in need. Millions of lives have already been saved and prevention, treatment and care services have been provided to hundreds of millions of people, helping to revitalize entire communities, strengthen local health systems and improve economies. Read more
• European Commission Press Release announcing major increase in EU’s contribution to improve global health can be found here.
• ABOUT ONE: ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organisation of nearly 7 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, we raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programmes. Read more at one.org.

Useful data:

In response to the devastation caused by these diseases, leaders from around the world joined forces in 2002 to create the Global Fund—an effort that then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan described as a “war chest” to fight these pandemics.  Over the course of the last decade, the Global Fund has become the single most powerful tool in the fight against these three killer diseases. More than $33 billion in grants to more than 140 countries have translated into real impact on the ground, providing:

• antiretroviral treatment for 8.6 million people living with HIV/AIDS;
• treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission  for 3.3 million HIV-positive pregnant women;
• insecticide-treated bed nets to protect 600 million families from malaria;
• and detection and treatment services for 15 million cases of TB.

Global Fund grants have also achieved impressive impact beyond the three diseases.

• Nearly 40% of Global Fund investments go toward improving health systems, and the amount committed to cross-cutting issues has doubled in recent years.
• The Global Fund has been one of the earliest and strongest advocates for addressing gender inequality and for reaching marginalized populations, with an estimated 55-60% of its investments benefiting women and girls and many grants tailored specifically to reach the most vulnerable.

At its replenishment this year, the Global Fund is seeking at least $13 billion for the next three year period (2017–19) to continue its critical work. Experts estimate that effectively deploying this $13 billion would:

• save up to 8 million lives;
• avert up to 300 million new infections across the three diseases;
• allow the Global Fund to make substantial contributions towards building sustainable and resilient health systems;
• and return more than $200 billion in broad, long-term economic gains.