JOHANNESBURG, Nov 22 — A global health initiative that works to fight AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria raised US$11.34 billion (RM47.26 billion) at an event here yesterday, below its 2027-2029 target.
The Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is trying to raise US$18 billion for its work in a challenging climate for global health funding that has seen many big donors retreat following an aid overhaul in the United States under President Donald Trump.
“Money will be tight, so we must be smarter,” the Global Fund’s executive director, Peter Sands, said at the event on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 (G20), which brings together the world’s 20 biggest economies.
He said “the old model” of development funding is over and that it is essential for countries to become more self-reliant, but warned that too abrupt a transition would derail progress.
The Global Fund is planning to cut operating costs by 20 per cent in 2026, Sands added.
The US pledged US$4.6 billion, and has long been the Global Fund’s largest donor. In 2022, former president Joe Biden hosted the previous fundraising event and pledged US$6 billion, although that full total has not been delivered yet under the new administration.
The Global Fund has already warned countries about cuts to their existing grants for work until the end of 2026, as a result of the current shortfall.
The group said its work has saved 70 million lives since its inception in 2002, working alongside governments to distribute life-saving items such as insecticide-treated malaria nets, antiretroviral therapy for HIV, and TB treatments.
In 2022, the Global Fund also aimed to raise US$18 billion, and made US$15.7 billion in the end, raising just over US$14 billion at the pledging event.
