Ireland announces a commitment to increase funding to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria
Press release
09 February 2019
Ireland announces a commitment to increase funding to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria
The Minister of Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone T.D., will announce Ireland’s renewed commitment to ending the global epidemics of AIDS, TB and Malaria through the partnership between the Government of Ireland and the Global Fund by increasing their current annual contribution to the fund by 50%.
Ireland is one of the founding members of the Global Fund and since its inception in 2002 has contributed over €213 million. This support has contributed to 27 million lives saved, a reduction of one third in the number of deaths caused by AIDS, TB and Malaria and the strengthening of health systems worldwide.
Minister of State, Ciarán Cannon, speaking at the Fr. Michael Kelly Lecture in December 2018 remarked ‘that while there has been progress, the battle against AIDS, TB and malaria is not over, we have still not got to the bottom of this public health challenge’.
Minister Zappone will make the announcement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where she is attending the African Leadership Meeting - Investing in Health as part of the 32nd Assembly Summit of the African Union.
While in Addis, the Minister will also make a key note speech at the roundtable discussion on forced displacement as part of the African Union’s work under the theme of the year ‘Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced persons’. Over one third of the world’s forcibly displaced people are in Africa, including 14.5million IDPs. The thematic focus is intended to increase co-operation among African states to address the underlying causes and find long term solutions to the issue of forced displacement. Ireland is a significant contributor to the humanitarian response to displacement across the continent of Africa and this year will provide funding support to the African Union for work on gender, peace and security.
Speaking ahead of her visit, Minister Zappone said:
"I am delighted to be visiting Addis Ababa for this hugely important meeting where I will have the opportunity to speak with leaders in the field of Global Health. Ireland’s work on global health and on ending communicable diseases –AIDS, TB and Malaria – reflects our deep understanding from our own experience that poverty and poor health are closely linked. The human toll of these epidemics is unacceptable; nearly 1,000 adolescent girls and young women become infected with AIDS every day, a child still dies every two minutes from malaria and TB is now the world’s leading killer among infectious diseases. This is unacceptable when we know how to prevent these diseases.
I am looking forward to reaffirming Ireland’s commitment to working with regional institutions on the African Continent. We know from our own national experience how important it is to have a strong regional co-operation and it is heartening to see the level of commitment to address significant problems linked to health and displacement on a continental basis.
ENDS
Press Office
9 February 2019
Notes to Editors:
- Ireland currently contributes €30 million to the Global Fund for the period 2017-2019.
- This new contribution amounts to a 50% increase in funding.