The Global Fund takes the power of private sector innovation and expertise and rapidly scales access to new solutions for the most vulnerable people, fast-tracks progress in key priority areas, and builds domestic capacity in the countries in which we invest.
South Africa (25 September 2022) – For two decades, the Global Fund has called on the world to commit to defeating HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, end health inequity, and protect humanity from pandemics by raising money in three-year cycles known as Replenishments.
On the 21st of September, The United States of America-hosted pledging conference for the Global Fund to fight HIV, TB and malaria raised more than US$14.25 billion – the organisation’s most significant pledging commitment to date. This contribution will be invested strategically in programmes to build resilient and sustainable systems for health and strengthen pandemic preparedness for vulnerable, malaria-endemic regions like Southern Africa.
“The last two years have demonstrated how old and new pandemics interact and how catastrophic this combination can be for those most affected by HIV, TB, and malaria. However, ending malaria is definitely in sight; we have the people, we have the tools, and with the Global Fund, we have the resources. So, ensuring we had a successful replenishment was not negotiable,” says Sherwin Charles, co-founder and CEO of Goodbye Malaria,
“The Global Fund takes the power of private sector innovation and expertise and rapidly scales access to new solutions for the most vulnerable people, fast-tracks progress in key priority areas, and builds domestic capacity in the countries in which we invest,” he adds.
Goodbye Malaria’s commitment will help eliminate malaria in Southern Africa and will lead the continent to follow. The organisation says it is essential that the private sector supports the Global Fund now more than ever. Existing domestic funders should be proud to have played a role in helping the Global Fund achieve US$14.25 billion this cycle.
Earlier this year, Goodbye Malaria, together with their partners, Nando’s, Airports Company South Africa, Bayer, and Vodacom, spearheaded an ambitious R88 million private-sector commitment toward malaria elimination in Southern Africa. The African-run social benefit organisation announced this commitment at the Kigali Summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in June, which took place in Rwanda. Running alongside the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the summit highlighted the action needed to end malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDS) and how malaria and NTDS programmes unlock the potential of countries to invest in more resilient healthcare systems and build a safer world.
The social benefit organisation has been a catalyst for malaria elimination in Southern Africa and has supported the Global Fund’s efforts to build capacity in elimination programmes that not only focus on creating more resilient healthcare systems but also aim to improve data collection and quality.
This Replenishment cycle also saw South Africa’s private sector pledge US$650,000, while the country heeded the global call with a commitment of US$13 million – a 30% increase on the country’s previous cycle pledge.
However, despite these successes, Southern African countries still face numerous obstacles to eliminating malaria by 2030. These include battling a higher disease burden, challenging access for vulnerable populations to healthcare, difficulties in deploying prevention programmes and imported cases resulting from the movement of people across national borders.
“Achieving this exceptional commitment shows just how impactful partnerships can be in bolstering efforts to eliminate this disease across Mozambique, South Africa, and Eswatini,” says Robbie Brozin, co-founder of Nando’s and Goodbye Malaria. “These partnerships continue to empower African leadership to introduce new technology and innovations into integrated malaria elimination programmes while fostering an impact-driven culture to tackle this public health challenge.”
When the Global Fund was created 20 years ago, diseases like malaria, HIV, and TB seemed unbeatable. They were pandemics that global health systems struggled to control. However, the Fund has demonstrated how partnerships create opportunities for science, donor funding, and country ownership to significantly impact the fight against these diseases and put renewed momentum behind the fight to eliminate malaria.
by 