Andrew Mitchell – 2022 Statement on the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

The statement made by Andrew Mitchell, the Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in the House of Commons on 14 November 2022.

I would like to update the House on the UK’s contribution to the Seventh Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund).

The Government have no doubt of the huge value and importance of the work of the Global Fund. The Foreign Secretary, the Chancellor, and I, have therefore very carefully considered our pledge to the seventh replenishment, balancing the needs of the fight against the three diseases with the many other demands on the aid budget. I would like to reassure the House that we have maintained communication with the Global Fund throughout.

UK resilience, prosperity, and security depends on achieving our global health goals and supporting other countries, especially the least developed, to do the same. Countries with better health systems and healthier people are more likely to be stable and prosperous. The covid-19 pandemic has shown how health emergencies can reverse countries’ economic and social progress—and how global health is a field where international co-operation is vital.

The UK is a leader within this. We joined with others to create the Global Fund because we refused to accept the loss of millions of lives every year to diseases that were both preventable and treatable. It has proven its successful three-way partnership model between the private sector, civil society and governments and we are proud to have contributed over £4.4 billion to the Global Fund, and as third largest donor, to have been an important part of its success. Together we have cut the mortality rate of the three diseases by more than half, helping to save 50 million lives, while improving access to prevention and treatment, building the strong and inclusive health systems that underpin all health services, and helping countries respond to the covid-19 pandemic which threatens all these hard-won health development gains.

However, a child still dies of malaria nearly every minute. Nine out of 10 Commonwealth citizens still live in malaria endemic countries. AIDS is still the leading cause of death for young women across our Commonwealth and tuberculosis is a top leading infectious disease killer globally.

We remain committed to the mission of the Global Fund. The UK will therefore contribute £1 billion to the seventh replenishment of the Global Fund, helping to save over 1.2 million lives and partnering with others to support implementation of its new strategy. This pledge is drawn from our current ODA allocation and, as well as helping to save lives and prevent over 28 million new cases and infections, this funding will also help to build strong and inclusive health systems and support countries to prepare for and prevent future pandemic threats, helping to build a better and safer world for everyone. It will make an important contribution to our priority of ending the preventable deaths of mothers, babies and children, helping to provide medicine for 170,000 mothers to prevent transmitting HIV to their babies.

The Global Fund is without question one of the most highly efficient and effective global health mechanisms in development. We owe it to both UK taxpayers and the communities it serves to demonstrate how and where the Fund performs with full openness and transparency. I will therefore be drawing up a UK-Global Fund performance agreement to help to reassure our taxpayers and professional interests that a strong and sustained focus on UK priorities such as strengthening health systems and putting health equity, gender and human rights are at the very core of the Global Fund’s work.

We are proud of our record in global health. We have for decades worked at home and abroad to strengthen health systems, to improve nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, champion sexual and reproductive health and rights, improve access to vaccines and fight infectious diseases. We are one of the largest donors to the international covid-19 response. We are a long-term funder of innovation, developing new technologies, generating the evidence to enable delivery at scale and promoting access for those who need it most.

I would like to thank Members across both Houses of Parliament for their invaluable advice, interest, and support on this investment.