News Releases

Global Fund Praises Canada’s Commitment to COVID-19 Response Mechanism

10 March 2022

GENEVA – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria praises the decision by Canada to contribute CAD 60 million to the Global Fund's COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM). The new funding will help provide lifesaving diagnostic tests, treatments – including medical oxygen – and personal protective equipment (PPE) to low- and middle-income countries.

The contribution is part of Canada’s commitment to the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator – a groundbreaking collaboration of global partners to accelerate the development, production and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, PPE and vaccines.

A key supporter of the Global Fund and a global leader in promoting gender equality and human rights, Canada is our 6th largest public donor and pledged CAD 930.4 million for 2020-2022 – a 15.7% increase from its previous pledge. In 2020, Canada allocated CAD 65 million to the Global Fund’s COVID-19 response.

“We warmly welcome Canada’s new contribution, a fundamental step toward enhancing the fight against COVID-19, securing the gains made against HIV, TB and malaria, and strengthening in-country pandemic preparedness and response,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “The new funding will particularly help us address the urgent need to scale up testing and ensure immediate equitable access to diagnostic tools across the world.”

A critical part of the comprehensive approach to defeat COVID-19, testing is one of the most effective tools to track or contain the spread of the virus, address urgent clinical needs, test the efficacy of vaccines, or detect the emergence of new variants. Together with ACT-Accelerator partners, the Global Fund has contributed to providing more than 155.2 million COVID-19 tests to low- and middle-income countries to date.

Through C19RM, the Global Fund is the primary channel for providing grant support to low- and middle-income countries for COVID-19 tests, treatments (including medical oxygen), PPE and critical elements of health systems strengthening.

The Global Fund will hold its Seventh Replenishment conference in the United States in the second half of 2022, aiming to raise US$18 billion to restore progress against AIDS, TB and malaria amid COVID-19 disruption. The conference will convene leaders from governments, civil society, the private sector and communities affected by the three most devastating infectious diseases.