FCAA Congratulates Global Fund on Successful Replenishment Effort
Applauds Effort of Governments, Civil Society & Private Sector to Step Up the Fight
Washington, DC, October 10, 2019 – As the Global Fund concludes its successful 6th Replenishment Meeting, Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA) applauds the combined efforts of national governments and civil society, as well as the private and philanthropic sectors, in mobilizing $14.02 billion in funding for the next three years. With a 15.6% increase in its contribution, we are especially proud of the U.S.’s continued commitment to the Global Fund and to its longstanding leadership in the battle against HIV/AIDS.
As a collective of grantmakers funding the fight against HIV/AIDS, FCAA knows well how critically important the Global Fund is and how effective its resources have been in fueling progress. With more than three decades in the fight, we have seen first-hand the difference it has made in mobilizing and deploying resources at the right time, in the right places, and at the necessary scale.
“We are incredibly proud that private donors – led by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – pledged more than $1 billion for the first time ever,” said John Barnes, Executive Director of FCAA. “It’s an incredible testament to the power that private philanthropy has to complement and mobilize government resources.”
The Global Fund raises and invests nearly $4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in the communities most in need. It has helped save 27 million lives and provided prevention, treatment, and care to hundreds of millions of people.
This Replenishment cycle is particularly remarkable given the challenging geopolitical environment in which it took place. It was the distinction of being not only the largest Replenishment the Global Fund has achieved, but also the largest of any global health multilateral to date.
Despite this welcome announcement, the fact remains, that the world is still at risk of backsliding without sustained resources to fight AIDS, TB and malaria. For example, HIV infection rates remain far too high, with 1.8 million people still infected each year. Particularly vulnerable populations, such as adolescent girls and young women in Africa, are at disproportionate risk. Addressing these challenges will require the concerted effort of all donors – both public and private – to increase their commitments.
FCAA urges continued and increased collaboration between the philanthropic sector and other funders to continue to allocate robust and well-aligned resources to reach the populations most at risk.
“Advocacy – arguably the biggest lever to help mobilize the fight against HIV/AIDS – is largely funded from private resources,” Barnes said. “Therefore, one of the single most important things the private sector can continue to do is fund the advocacy that is necessary to keep pushing governments to fulfil their commitments.”
But first, we must stop to recognize this important milestone and thank the private sector and all donors for their collective efforts to Step Up the Fight.