As we turn the page on 2017 and welcome 2018, we look back on some of the stories we’ve shared over the year. This brief review can hardly summarize all that’s happened in the fight to end the epidemics of HIV, TB and malaria. Instead, it grounds us in the day-to-day work that forms the foundation of the Global Fund partnership. Breaking down stigma and discrimination to give access to lifesaving HIV treatment. Making an unprecedented push to eliminate malaria. Committing to finding and treating millions of missing cases of TB. Supporting girls’ education – the “social vaccine” against HIV. Building stronger systems for health, even in the most challenging situations. And to top off the year, the Global Fund selected a new executive director.
One of the most powerful tools to prevent HIV? A school uniform. Meet 14-year-old Zulu Siphiwe and her inspiring mentor.
Great achievements against malaria come at a time when drug resistance is a growing menace across the Greater Mekong region, posing a major threat to global health security. This is why the Global Fund is investing to achieve something incredible – the elimination of the most dangerous type of malaria from five countries by 2025.
Once silenced by stigma, a remarkable group of women are challenging traditions to break the chains of HIV. Meet the courageous women of Mali and Senegal who are claiming their voices, and their rights.
Tuberculosis hides – and kills – in plain sight. Every year, more than 10 million get sick with TB, and every year, 4.3 million of them do not get treatment. The Global Fund supports an all-out effort to find the missing cases of TB, wherever they may be.
Peter Sands was named the Global Fund’s next executive director in November. “If we work together to mobilize funds, build strong health systems and establish effective community responses we will be able to end epidemics, promote prosperity and increase our global health security,” he says.