Writing in the Huffington Post’s “The Big Push” blog, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, examines why the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a good investment. Noting the Global Fund on Monday announced “that it will need $15 billion to continue its life-saving work,” Gates says, “If the world comes together to meet this replenishment goal, it will build on one of its greatest achievements of the past decade by saving millions more lives. HIV, TB and malaria are three of the world’s biggest killers, but thanks to the Global Fund we are starting to make significant progress in controlling them.”

“Because of its scale, the Global Fund has started to change the trajectory of epidemics. As a result, we have made real progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for health,” Gates continues. “The Fund is poised to have an even greater impact in the future,” he states, adding, “Knowledge of how to effectively control HIV, TB and malaria is rapidly expanding.” He concludes, “In the decade since it was established, the Global Fund has received generous contributions from governments and other supporters around the world. … These investments deserve to continue” (4/8).