Civil Society Letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Nov 2022

Find the full letter in PDF here.

Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP

The Prime Minister

10 Downing Street

London

SW1A 2AA

 

Dear Prime Minister,

RE: UK pledge to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

We would like to acknowledge the historic leadership of successive UK Governments in the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. We welcome the UK pledge of £1 billion amongst difficult domestic financial pressures. However, we also regret such a clear departure from previous commitments and other governments.

At the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) seventh replenishment conference in September, nations around the world stepped up to regain the ground lost because of COVID-19, and meet the 2030 targets of ending these diseases as epidemics. The U.S., Canada, South Africa, Germany, Japan and Ireland all answered The Global Fund’s call and increased their pledges by 30%. The UK took the opposite approach and has made a cut from its previous pledge of almost 30%, forfeiting its long-held leadership role in international development.

We must  express alarm over the UK reducing its pledge to the Global Fund from its 2019 contribution as it has serious consequences for millions around the world. Compared to pledging the requested increase, this risks a potential 1.54 million lives and a possible 34.5 million new transmissions across the three diseases. In real terms, it means over 2 million people not accessing antiretroviral therapy for HIV, 104 million fewer bed nets distributed to protect children and families from malaria, and 1.3 million fewer people accessing treatment and care for tuberculosis.

We know that HIV, tuberculosis and malaria disproportionately harm women and girls; for example in 2021 an adolescent girl or young woman newly contracted HIV every 2 minutes. A reduced pledge is out of step with the UK’s commitment to delivering equality and opportunity for women and girls.

With the UK’s pledge the total amount raised in the 7th replenishment has increased to US$15.669 billion as of today. This is an impressive achievement but Global Fund partners must find ways to meet the minimum target of US$18 billion from the Global Fund’s Investment Case by implementing the Global Fund’s new strategy fully. We urge you to change course and stand with the global community with a bolder pledge to ensure we can save lives, strengthen health systems, and unlock the full potential of millions of people worldwide. With your help, we can achieve a healthier, safer and more prosperous world for everyone.

Yours sincerely,

Signed by the 81 civil society and community organisations listed below:

  1. Aberystwyth University, United Kingdom
  2. Advocacy Network Africa (AdNetA), Kenya
  3. Africa Japan Forum, Japan
  4. AIDS-Fondet (The Danish AIDS Foundation), Danemark
  5. All Ceylon Young Men’s Muslim Association, Sri Lanka
  6. Amref Health Africa UK, United Kingdom
  7. Ashar Alo Society, Bangladesh
  8. Association Camerounaise pour l’épanouissement et l’autonomisation des personnes vulnérables (ASCEAUPEV+), Cameroun
  9. ATHENA Network, Nigeria
  10. AVAC, United States
  11. Botswana Network of AIDS Service Organizations, Botswana
  12. Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC), Jamaica
  13. CHISA, Malawi
  14. Christian Action for Development & Support (CADS), South Sudan
  15. Christian Fellowship and Care Foundation, Nigeria
  16. Coalition of Women Living with HIV and AIDS, Malawi
  17. Community Delegation to the Stop TB Parneship Board, Kenya
  18. CRS, Nigeria
  19. Disability Peoples Forum Uganda, Uganda
  20. Diversity and Solidarity Trust Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka
  21. Dopasi Foundation and Stop TB Partnership, Pakistan, Pakistan
  22. Eastern Africa National Network of AIDS and Health Services Organization (EANNASO), Tanzania
  23. ECOM, Estonia
  24. Eswatini Coalition on TB, Eswatini
  25. European African Treatment Advocates Network (EATANCIC), United Kingdom
  26. FALCOH Foundation, Cameroon
  27. Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, United States
  28. Frontline AIDS, United Kingdom
  29. Fundacion Salud por Derecho, España
  30. GFAN AP, Singapore
  31. Global Coalition of TB Advocates, India
  32. Global Fund Advocates Network, Global
  33. Global Network of Sex Work Projects, Scotland, United Kingdom
  34. Good Health Community Programmes, Kenya
  35. Harm Reduction International, United Kingdom
  36. Health GAP, Global
  37. HFHGB, United Kingdom
  38. HIV I-Base, United Kingdom
  39. HIV Legal Network, Canada
  40. Hope for Future Generations, Ghana
  41. Human & Natural Resource Development Foundation, Srilanka
  42. Impact Santé Afrique & CS4ME, Cameroon
  43. India Working Group for Health Advocacy, India
  44. Lankaplus Organization, Sri Lanka
  45. LHL International Tuberculosis Foundation, Norway
  46. Life Vs Addiction, Nepal
  47. Lunia Centre for Youths, Zimbabwe
  48. MANET+, Malawi
  49. National AIDS Trust, United Kingdom
  50. Network of TB Champions Kenya, Kenya
  51. Organization of Environment and Children Rights Preservation, Sri Lanka
  52. Positive East, United Kingdom
  53. Positive Hopes Alliance, Sri Lanka
  54. Positively UK, United Kingdom
  55. Princess of Africa Foundation, South Africa
  56. Pulse Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka
  57. Red Ribbon Living Well CIC, United Kingdom
  58. Réseau Accès aux Médicaments Essentiels (RAME), Burkina Faso
  59. Results Canada, Canada
  60. Sahir House, Great Britain
  61. Salamander Trust, United Kingdom
  62. Senderos Asociación Mutual, Colombia
  63. Southern African Miners Association (SAMA), South Africa
  64. Sri Sathyaguna Foundation, Sri Lanka
  65. Sri Lanka International Development Organization, Sri Lanka
  66. STOPAIDS, United Kingdom
  67. Students for Global Health, United Kingdom
  68. SWLSTG Mental Health NHS Trust, United Kingdom
  69. Tanzania AIDS Forum and AIDS, Tanzania
  70. Tanzania Health Promotion Support, Tanzania
  71. Terrence Higgins Trust, United Kingdom
  72. The Food Chain, United Kingdom
  73. The Reformed Drug and Substance Abuse Initiative ( REDSAI), Nigeria
  74. Uganda Virus Research Institute, Uganda
  75. UK Community Advisory Board (UK-CAB), United Kingdom
  76. Venasa Transgender Network, Sri Lanka
  77. Vision makers, Kenya
  78. Women Together Edu- Cultural Center, Kenya, Kenya
  79. Women4GlobalFund (W4GF), South Africa & Zimbabwe
  80. Youth Engage, Zimbabwe
  81. Zimbabwe Community Competence Trust, Zimbabwe