Fact: Every day, nearly 1,000 young women contract HIV.
Fact: Globally, there are 37 million people living with HIV — more than 15 million of whom can’t get life-saving treatment, which puts them at risk of developing AIDS-related symptoms — and another 1.8 million people contract HIV every year.
Fact: Over 2,500 people die from AIDS-related causes every day.
Fact: AIDS isn’t a disease of the past. It’s a modern-day crisis and it’s impacting people and communities around the world right now.
Enter, the Global Fund — a 21st-century partnership organisation designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria as epidemics.
A child being administered malaria screening with Global Fund supported medical supplies at the Nduo-Eduo community Health Centre in Nigeria.
Formed in 2002, they work in partnership with governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria to put an end to these epidemics by investing in and funding all kinds of health resources and interventions, like doctors, nurses, innovative technologies and education programs.
The Global Fund is one of the world’s most powerful tools in the fight against these diseases. In 2017 alone, regions and countries where the Global Fund invests treated 108 million cases of malaria and 5 million people for TB, plus 17.5 million people were on ARV therapy to treat HIV. In the same year, 197 million mosquito nets were distributed, over 79 million HIV tests were completed and HIV prevention services and programs reached 9.4 million people.
A team of mobile community health workers trained with Global Fund support on their way to rural Kenyan homes to provide health checks and care.
This is what progress looks like. But there’s still work to be done, particularly for young women and girls.
To make sure the Global Fund can continue with their critical work, they will be hosting their sixth replenishment conference in October. They’re asking world leaders and private investors to come together and help save 16 million lives over the next 3 years by meeting their replenishment goal of US$14 billion.
This investment is the bold ambition the world needs to get us on track to stop the spread of these diseases — and it’s why we’re calling on world leaders to #StepUpTheFight by fully financing the Global Fund.
