New Global Fund report shows 50 million lives saved over 20 years in fight against HIV, TB and malaria; Pandemic investments paying off
Rebound of progress underway following COVID-19 setbacks
GENEVA, 12 September 2022 – The Global Fund’s 2022 Results Report released today finds a significant rebound in 2021 for programs working to defeat HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on the fight against the three diseases, leading to the decline of key programmatic results across the three diseases for the first time in the history of the Global Fund. When the pandemic hit countries where the Global Fund works, the partnership rapidly mounted a response to deliver additional resources. This year, the new report shows those investments paid off and recovery is underway.
“By working together, the Global Fund partnership has saved 50 million lives over the past two decades, proof that global commitment and community leadership can force the world’s deadliest infectious diseases into retreat,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Although most countries that fight HIV, TB and malaria have started to recover from the ravages of COVID-19, we need to accelerate our efforts if we are to fully recover lost ground and get back on track towards ending these diseases by 2030.”
The Global Fund responded swiftly to COVID-19, providing significant funding to country responses through our COVID-19 response mechanism (C19RM) and leveraging our expertise and strong global networks. Since March 2020, the Global Fund has invested more than US$4.4 billion to fight the pandemic and mitigate its impact on HIV, TB and malaria. The funding enabled countries to rapidly adapt existing programs, purchase personal protective equipment, diagnostics, treatments and medical supplies and deploy prevention campaigns. This rapid response helped us avoid the worst-case scenario of a surge in deaths and cases across the three diseases.
Decades of experience in fighting HIV, TB and malaria allowed many low- and middle-income countries to respond to COVID-19, using the same laboratories, disease surveillance, community networks, trained health workers and supply chains that were already in place to fight HIV, TB and malaria.
Key results for 2021 in countries where the Global Fund invests include:
- For HIV:
- 23.3 million people received lifesaving antiretroviral therapy for HIV, continuing the trend of a rising number of people on treatment for the virus.
- 69% of people living with HIV had a suppressed viral load.
- 12.5 million people reached with HIV prevention services including 5.8 million people from populations most at risk and 6.1 million young people – recovering the ground lost in 2020 when prevention services had dropped.
- For TB:
- 5.3 million people treated for TB; 110,000 people treated for drug-resistant TB – putting us on a trajectory of recovery following the sharp drops in 2020. One person with active TB can spread the disease to as many as 15 people in a year.
- 395,000 people in contact with TB patients provided with preventive therapy, ramping up our efforts to prevent people at the highest risk of TB from progressing from TB infection to disease.
- 283,000 HIV-positive TB patients were put on antiretroviral drugs. TB is the leading cause of death among people living with HIV.
- For Malaria:
- 280 million suspected cases of malaria tested, registering significant gains in efforts to ensure all people who may have malaria are diagnosed.
- 148 million cases of malaria treated, continuing the recovery in efforts to ensure all people who are diagnosed with malaria are treated swiftly to prevent deaths.
- 133 million mosquito nets distributed to protect families from malaria. Additionally, 12.5 million pregnant women provided with preventive therapy for malaria, saving women’s lives and preventing adverse birth outcomes.
Thanks to the mobilization of countries and communities and the generous support of our donors, C19RM is delivering results and HIV and malaria programs have recovered to exceed the 2019 levels. Results achieved in the fight against TB are also on the rise. But 2019 levels are not where we were planning to be in 2021, meaning we are still off track to reach the Sustainable Development Goal targets of ending the three diseases. Additionally, we are now confronted by the prospect of a new global health crisis, triggered by the impact of conflict and climate change on food and energy.
“In 2002 the world came together and created the Global Fund, a unique partnership of governments, civil society, private sector and communities. In these challenging times, that level of global commitment is needed once again to get back on track and achieve good health and well-being for all by 2030.”
“Our goal is to raise US$18 billion next week at our Replenishment Conference in New York, and save another 20 million lives over 2024-2026,” said Sands.
The Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment Conference, hosted by President Biden, on behalf of the United States government, will take place in New York next week and aims to raise at least US$18 billion [ download in عربي | Deutsch | English | Español | Français | Русский ] to fund its next three-year cycle of grants. The Global Fund estimates that the funding of US$18 billion would save 20 million lives, cut HIV, tuberculosis and malaria deaths by almost two-thirds and strengthen health and community systems to reinforce pandemic preparedness.
Source: Global Fund
