Huffington Post: Launching Renewed Determination to End the Major Infectious Disease Killers
Chris Collins, president of Friends of the Global Fight

“…The success of [the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s Fifth] Replenishment is particularly welcome given the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) report this summer showing a decrease in donor financing of the global AIDS response. … [B]ut today that global effort is underfinanced. The $13 billion for the Global Fund, combined with hoped-for major increases in spending by implementing governments and sustained funding from donors, represents only 80 percent of what is required to end the AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria epidemics. We are in striking distance, but not yet on track. … The new Administration and Congress, working with … partners globally, can make sure increased funding and strategic approaches are in place to realize the potential we have to end the epidemics. Implementing governments and other donor countries must do more. And part of that collective effort will be increased U.S. investments in the Global Fund as well as our bilateral programs, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), and USAID’s TB program. … Given that more people support increased funding for global health when they learn what a small percentage of the budget it represents, there is a real opportunity to communicate more widely and effectively with Americans about the benefits of these investments. … The end of the AIDS, TB, and malaria epidemics is on the launching pad. Now the global community needs to seize the opportunity and commit the resources necessary to end these epidemics for good” (9/30).