News Releases

In Early Pledge, Portugal More than Triples its Commitment to the Global Fund

29 April 2019

PORTO – The Global Fund applauds Portugal’s pledge of €750,000 to the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment, which is more than triple its previous commitment.

“The Portuguese Ministry of Health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have the pleasure to announce this important contribution to a cause that is not only ours, but with which we feel committed to, because we are aware that solidarity and sharing efforts are key instruments to ensure more and better health for all, leaving no one behind,” said Dr. Raquel Duarte, Secretary of State for Health of Portugal.

Portugal, which was hit hard by the 2008 global financial crisis, has steadily rebuilt its commitment to global health, incrementally increasing its annual pledges to the Global Fund. Today’s pledge is the country’s first multi-year pledge since 2007. This is critical, as multi-year commitments guarantee predictability of funding for countries fighting HIV, TB and malaria, increasing program quality and sustainability of impact.

“We are extremely grateful for Portugal’s pledge, and honored by their unwavering dedication to rebuilding their support for global health and the Global Fund,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Portugal’s support will help us save 16 million lives and cut the mortality rates from the diseases by half by 2023.”

Today’s pledge was at an event entitled ‘Toward replenishment - underscoring the Global Fund’s importance to harm reduction funding.’ The Global Fund is the world’s largest funder of harm reduction programs.

With Portugal’s support, Global Fund investments in six Portuguese-speaking countries – Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, and Timor-Leste – have saved 935,000 lives, put almost 1.3 million people on antiretroviral therapy for HIV, treated nearly 600,000 TB cases, and distributed over 56 million mosquito nets. Portugal also provides critical technical support to Portuguese-speaking countries around the world, helping the Global Fund and partners recruit from Portugal’s pool of Portuguese-speaking health experts.

In the countries where the Global Fund invests worldwide, more than 27 million lives have been saved and the number of people dying from AIDS, TB and malaria has been slashed by one-third. The Global Fund delivers this impact together with a diverse range of partners including bilateral partners, multilateral and technical agencies, private sector companies, foundations, implementing countries, civil society groups, and people affected by the diseases.

The Global Fund seeks to raise at least US$14 billion for the Sixth Replenishment fundraising cycle. The funds will help save 16 million lives, cut the mortality rate from HIV, TB and malaria in half, and build stronger health systems by 2023. France will host the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment pledging conference on 10 October 2019 in Lyon.