Open Letter to Chancellor Scholz

May 2022

OPEN FOR ENDORSEMENT UNTIL MAY 27

 

Germany has been a strong supporter of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) since its founding 20 years ago. Over that period, the Global Fund has saved 44 million lives, and Germany has contributed more than € 3.9 billion, making it its fourth largest donor. In 2019, for the Sixth Replenishment, Germany pledged € 1 billion, and later an additional € 290 million to fund the COVID-19 Response Mechanism of the Global Fund, which ensured that resources would be supplemented and where necessary redeployed to continue to deliver high-quality HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programs despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19.

Germany plays a pivotal role in shaping Global Fund policies, through its seat on the Global Fund’s Board and role on its Strategy Committee, in particular with regard to the building of resilient and sustainable systems for health, and improving health outcomes for women and girls. Within several weeks of the attack on Ukraine by Russia, the Global Fund Board was able to review and approve a plan to ensure that services for HIV and tuberculosis could continue to operate in the country and could follow Ukrainians fleeing the war.

Global health advocates know Germany as a leading voice in global health and development, initiating important conversations and action on global health security, health systems strengthening and antimicrobial resistance. Germany has endorsed the need to reduce inequalities in accessing health care and overcoming human rights and gender-related barriers in a number of forums where affected communities and civil society are key partners, including the Global Fund.

The Global Fund has grown over the past 20 years into the largest multilateral funder of health, thanks to its unique partnership approach, its comprehensive engagement of communities most affected by the three diseases, and its country-led funding model. It is responsive, adaptable, highly effective, and has a long record of deploying disease-fighting interventions at scale. Its inclusive governance, commitment to human rights, support for evidence-based interventions, local ownership and decades of experience engaging and working with the most marginalized and excluded communities have reinvigorated the responses to HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, and fostered pandemic preparedness and response.

The Global Fund operates in 3-years funding cycles. In 2019, it raised a record US$ 14 billion for its Sixth Replenishment. In 2022, with the world still dealing with COVID-19, the Global Fund estimated in its Investment Case that at least US$ 18 billion would be needed to recover the ground lost during the pandemic to accelerate and put us back on track towards the elimination of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics by 2030. To meet this financial target, a minimum 30% increase is needed of all Global Fund donors. The United States, as host of the Seventh Replenishment Pledging Conference, has indicated its willingness to pledge US$ 6 billion, but in order to be made available this funding must be matched two to one by other donors.

As the host of the upcoming G7 Summit, Germany is in a unique position to influence the outcomes of the Seventh Replenishment. The Elmau Summit will come at a pivotal moment ahead of the Pledging Conference, scheduled for September. The members of the G7 have accounted for over 80% of the Global Fund’s resources to date, and a show of leadership from the G7 Presidency during the summit will be instrumental for the Replenishment to hit its target.

The Global Fund has a pivotal role to play in not only ending HIV, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics, but also in the response against COVID-19 and the preparation for future pandemics. The Global Fund already invests over US$ 1 billion every year in building resilient systems for health, and these investments have already made their mark. Experience from years of HIV genetic sequencing in several countries in southern Africa was key to raise the alarm on the rise of the Omicron variant. Across countries benefiting from Global Fund grants, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria health workers pivoted in 2020 to respond to COVID-19, and supported health systems to better resist the influx of patients, and detect upcoming waves early. Investing in health systems that ensure equitable access to quality prevention and care is our best insurance policy against novel pandemics, and will be the key to ending the world’s most lethal infectious diseases.

We, the undersigned global health advocates, ask the German government:

  • to increase by 30% the pledge it made at the Sixth Replenishment Conference in Lyon, to bring it to € 1.3 billion in 2022. This is not an unreasonable ask – given Germany’s contribution to the COVID-19 Response Mechanism, it does not represent an increase from its total contribution over 2020-2022; and
  • to create momentum among G7 members by using the summit as a platform to announce its pledge, and uphold the group’s commitment to building a more equitable world.

 

Sign-On the Letter here.

You can download this letter here. 

Signed by:

  • Action Santé Mondiale / Global Health Advocates

  • Advocates of hope for community (AHFCO)

  • Africa Japan Forum

  • AIDS Action Europe

  • Aids Foundation of South Africa

  • AIDS-Fondet (Danish AIDS Foundation)

  • Alliance for Sustainable Development Organization (ASDO)

  • BlackPride Communications and Projects

  • Bloyta Projects

  • BUKO Pharma-Kampagne

  • Child Watch

  • Club des Amis Damien “CAD”

  • Coalition PLUS

  • Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) – Zimbabwe

  • EANNASO

  • Equipop

  • Evangelisch – methodistische Kirche, Weltmission

  • Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

  • GFAN

  • Global Citizen

  • Global Fund Advocates Network Asia-Pacific

  • Hope for Future Generations

  • Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium (KANCO)

  • Kenya Orphans Support Organization

  • Kenya Treatment Access Movement- KETAM

  • Kibauni CBO

  • Lean on Me

  • Machakos County Youth Assembly

  • NAP + Ghana

  • NAPWA-SA

  • Networking Community of Southern Africa

  • Non-state actors for health and development, Ghana

  • Organismo Andino de Salud – Convenio Hipólito Unanue

  • Pan African Positive Women’s Coalition-Zimbabwe

  • Public Health International Consulting Center (PHICC)

  • Réseau Accès aux Médicaments Essentiels (RAME)

  • Results Canada

  • Results UK

  • Rural New Life Development Kenya

  • Rwanda NGOs Forum on HIV/AIDS and Health Promotion

  • Spiritia Foundation

  • Spouses of CARICOM Leaders Action Network

  • Stop TB Canada

  • Stop TB Partnership-Kenya

  • Tanzania AIDS Forum

  • Tanzania Network of Women Living with HIV and AIDS

  • TB Women Kenya

  • The Botswana Network on Ethics Law and HIV AIDS(BONELA)

  • Vision makers CBO

  • WACI Health

  • Women with Dignity

  • Women4GlobalFund

  • YAPBEC

  • Youth Support Foundation

  • Zengele