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Global Fund Applauds Spain’s €100 Million Pledge

25 September 2019

El Fondo Mundial aplaude la promesa de contribución de € 100 millones por parte de España
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NEW YORK – The Global Fund applauds the announcement by the government of Spain that it will contribute €100 million to the Global Fund over the next three years.

The pledge marks the return of Spain as a donor and demonstrates the country’s strong commitment to end the epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and build stronger and more sustainable health systems around the world.

The announcement was made by acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in New York during his address to the United Nations General Assembly.

“Health is a fundamental human right, and also a vital tool to fight poverty, reduce inequalities, achieve gender equality and promote inclusive development,” said Sánchez, reiterating Spain's commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. "Spain has a role to play in an inclusive and effective multilateral world. Spain will return to the donor community of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, making a contribution of 100 million euros over the next three years," Sanchez said.

Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund, warmly welcomed the announcement.

“We are extremely pleased to see Spain’s strong commitment at a time when we are calling everyone to step up the fight,” Sands said. “By pledging €100 million, Spain is demonstrating extraordinary leadership in supporting efforts to reach the most vulnerable and to accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of health and well-being for all. We thank the people of Spain.”

In the past, Spain has contributed more than US$700 million to the Global Fund, making it the 12th largest public donor in cumulative terms. Due to budgetary constraints, Spain’s last contribution was made in 2010. In 2017, Spain re-engaged with the Global Fund through the Debt-To-Health initiative, by signing debt swap agreements with Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia that freed €15.5 million to be reinvested in HIV, malaria and health systems programs.

France will host the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment pledging conference in Lyon on 9-10 October. The Global Fund seeks to raise at least US$14 billion for the next three years to help save 16 million lives, cut the mortality rate from HIV, TB and malaria in half, and build stronger health systems by 2023.

With its pledge, Spain joins other European donors who have responded to the call to step up the fight by announcing significantly increased pledges ahead of the Lyon conference, including Luxemburg, Ireland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the European Commission, Germany and Italy.

The Conference is aimed at further mobilizing efforts to end the epidemics by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Programs supported by the Global Fund partnership have saved more than 32 million lives. The Global Fund is also the largest multilateral investor in health systems, investing US$1 billion a year to build more resilient and sustainable systems for health.

Despite a decrease in official development assistance in recent years, global health is a priority of Spain’s international cooperation strategy. The country is a strong advocate of human rights and gender equity, fighting inequality, building stronger systems of health and advancing towards universal health coverage.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Yeray Díaz Zbida