European Commission Signs Funding Agreement with the Global Fund
29 April 2019
BRUSSELS – The European Commission and the Global Fund today signed an agreement for the final €73 million of the EC’s pledge for the current funding cycle. The EC is the sixth-largest donor to the Global Fund, and today’s agreement brings the EC’s total commitment to more than €2 billion since 2002.
“Since 2002, the EU has contributed to saving 27 million lives through the remarkable work of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Millions of people are on antiretroviral therapy for HIV, millions of people with tuberculosis have been treated, and hundreds of million mosquito nets help prevent people from getting malaria. Still, we need to do much more: Every day, nearly 1,000 girls are infected with HIV and malaria kills a child every two minutes. The EU is therefore pleased to be able to contribute to the fight against the three diseases and, just as importantly, help build strong and resilient health systems through the work of the Global Fund,” said Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development.
The announcement was made ahead of the event Facing the Future Together: Europe and the Global Fund, organised by Friends of the Global Fund Europe in Brussels today. The contribution is the final amount of the €475 million pledge made by the EU for the period 2017-2019.
Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund, thanked Commissioner Mimica at the event in Brussels.
“The EC has been a critical supporter of the Global Fund since its inception,” said Sands. “The EC’s longstanding support and global health leadership has helped the Global Fund partnership save more than 27 million lives since 2002. As we raise funds for our next three-year cycle, we hope the EC will again step up their contribution and continue to be a leader in fighting AIDS, TB and malaria, helping achieve universal health coverage for millions of the most vulnerable people worldwide.”
The EC and the European Union member states together represent nearly half of the total funding to the Global Fund. Europe is again showing its strong support for the mission of the Global Fund, with France hosting this year’s Sixth Replenishment Conference in Lyon in October 2019.
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.
Since it began, the Global Fund partnership has had extraordinary impact. In the countries where we invest, 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.