Yesterday the Global Fund released their Results Report 2019.
This report is released three weeks ahead of the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment conference scheduled to take place on 9-10 October in Lyon, France where the Global Fund is aiming to raise US$14 billion for the next three year allocation cycle to save 16 million more lives and halve HIV, TB and malaria mortality rates by 2023.
Although Global Fund – through its support to countries – has achieved so much in terms of saving lives and controlling epidemics, the report highlights we are still off-course.
As the Global Fund’s Executive Director, Peter Sands, highlighted in the report “While the Global Fund partnership continues to have huge impact, saving 32 million lives since 2002, the worldis NOT on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) target of ending the epidemics by 2030. We need a sharp change of trajectory.” The report also recognises that universal health coverage is key to promoting equity, global health security, development and growth, embedded in the SDGs.
[box] “Girls and young women age 15-24 in sub-Saharan Africa are twice as likely to be HIV-positive compared to young men of the same age. In the most affected countries this is six times as high.” [/box]
In addition to some of the key points made in this progress report – it is clear that the world will not change the trajectory of HIV without addressing gender and other inequalities that women in all our diversity – especially those living with HIV, TB and malaria continue to face.
We need continued global commitment to meet the US$14 billion target and at the same time we need implementing countries to step up by increasing their domestic resources for health and investing in programs to get us back on track! Back on track to leave no one behind, achieve UHC, ensure gender transformative programming and human rights based responses.
Key results that the report highlights for 2018 in countries where the Global Fund invests includes:
- 125 million HIV tests taken; HIV-positive people with knowledge of their status increased from 70% in2015 to 79% in 2018. Global target: 90% by 2020.
- 9 million people on antiretroviral therapy for HIV. Coverage increased from 22% in 2010 to 62% in 2018. Global target: 81% by 2020.
- People living with HIV with suppressed viral load increased from 39% in2015 to 53% in 2018. Global target: 73% by 2020.
- 719,000 women living with HIV prevent vertical transmission of HIV; coverage increased from 43% in 2010 to 83% in 2018. Global target: 100% by 2020.
[box] “The Global Fund supports programs that go beyond a narrow focus on HIV, TB and malaria to deliver integrated, people-centred health services to maximize efficiency and improve overall health outcomes. For example, interventions to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, ensure early diagnosis of HIV in infants, screen pregnant women and children for TB, and protect pregnant women and infants from malaria should be designed and implemented as components of an integrated strategy for strengthening overall.”[/box]
Key highlights noted in this report that are important to W4GF Advocates!
- The Global Fund has increased its investments in adolescent girls and young women fivefold in the 2017-2019 period, to US$200 million.
- US$55 million from matching funds were leveraged to mobilise an additional US$140 million for programs to reduce new cases of HIV, violence, and unintended pregnancies among 1 million adolescent girls and young women in 13 most affected countries.
- The Global Fund’s market shaping strategy has led to enormous savings in ARVs, enabling countries to provide more treatment for people in need, and the Global Fund is increasing resources to address gender and human rights barriers to health services.
- The Global Fund’s HER Voice fund – launched with a US$500,000 investment (now continuing through private sector support), in its first year, supported nearly 200 groups, networks or organizations of adolescent girls and young women with small grants enabling them to participate in Global Fund country processes.
- 4 million pregnant women received preventive therapy for malaria in 2018.
[box] “Too often, the people most vulnerable to disease are the same people who don’t have access to health care because of stigma, gender inequality or discrimination. The Global Fund and its partners seek to knock down those barriers by investing in human rights and gender-responsive programs, by supporting greater involvement of communities in the design, delivery and monitoring of interventions, and by making health services more financially sustainable.”[/box]
To download a printable version of this article click here