France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom have yet to announce their pledges to fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria

With world leaders heading to Japan next week for the G7 Summit, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe announced that Japan would pledge $800 million USD over three years to the Global Fund — the international organization leading the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. This commitment represents an increase of more than 11 percent in Yen. The Global Fund has set a target of raising $13 billion USD in this year’s replenishment, enough to save 8 million more lives and prevent another 300 million new infections. 

Combined, the G7 countries and the European Union have been responsible for 72 percent of contributions to the Global Fund since 2002.

The ONE Campaign — the global anti-poverty organization co-founded by U2 lead singer Bono now with more than 7 million members worldwide — issued the following reaction from Tom Hart, Executive Director for North America and Asia:

“On behalf of the ONE Campaign, I applaud Japan for its renewed commitment to the Global Fund, and its leadership in the fight against the deadliest diseases on earth. The Japanese people have been important supporters of the Global Fund since its conception at the 2000 Japan G8, and they should be proud of the 17 million lives the Fund has saved. Prime Minister Abe has made a strong commitment that will help the Global Fund save another 8 million lives by the end of the decade.

“Among the G7, Japan now joins the United States and Canada t announcing its pledge for this September’s replenishment. The European Commission also made its pledge — a 27 percent increase — in March. It’s time now for France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom to step up with their commitments.

“The lives of millions living in extreme poverty and the future of the AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria epidemics are now riding on what President Hollande, Chancellor Merkel, Prime Minister Renzi, and Prime Minister Cameron do next. 

“Five thousand young women in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV every week, and roughly three out of four adolescents who get infected there are female. It’s not a coincidence — poverty is sexist. It’s possible to end the scourge of HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, but only if we invest more in girls and women and fully finance the Global Fund this year.

“The world has made remarkable progress in the fights against these deadly diseases over the last 15 years — largely because of the Global Fund — and for the first time ever, scientists see a pathway for not just controlling these diseases, but for defeating them. The next few years will be critical in the arcs of these diseases, giving world leaders a truly historic opportunity to end them for good by strengthening their commitments to the Global Fund in Montreal this September.