Battles against HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria not yet won
The number of deaths from these diseases has halved over the last decade, but they are nowhere near to being eradicated, say and .
AS part of the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community said it would eradicate HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria by 2030.
Ending these pandemics and improving general health will require ramping up efforts to support countries in building resilient and inclusive health systems.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, a public-private partnership, has massively scaled up prevention and treatment.
In countries where the Global Fund invests, 18.9m people received antiretroviral therapy for HIV in 2018, 5.3m tuberculosis patients were treated, and 131m mosquito nets were distributed.
These efforts have proved tremendously effective in reducing pandemic death toll. Thirty two million lives have been saved since the Global Fund’s creation, in 2002. Over the last decade, the annual number of deaths from HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria has been halved. Yet, we are still not on track to eliminate HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria by 2030. To achieve this goal, we must not only expand access to treatment drastically; we also need a sharp reduction in new infections.
Success will require clear political leadership and sustained investment in critical capacities, such as well-trained community health workers, cost-effective supply chains, quality data systems, and well-equipped laboratories.
To ensure that health services reach the poorest and most marginalised people, barriers — such as user fees, human rights-related impediments, or gender inequalities — must be dismantled. Community engagement will be essential here.
Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Countries and communities need to devise strategies that account for their residents’ needs and which reflect the particular disease threats.
Moreover, no single external development partner can provide all of the necessary support.
That is why we are calling for innovative coalitions, comprising multilateral and bilateral development organisations that leverage their complementary attributes to strengthen national capacities.
Such co-ordinated support is needed most urgently in regions — for example, the Sahel, in Sub-Saharan Africa — that have weak institutions and infrastructure, and which are particularly vulnerable to security threats and environmental crises.
In Côte d’Ivoire, the Global Fund and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) have invested in building, together with the Ivorian government, a regional bureau for the national medical drug-supply centre.
This will facilitate treatment delivery as close as possible to communities, thereby strengthening national health authorities’ capacity to reach the most vulnerable in a sustainable way.
In the same vein, the AFD, and the Global Fund are supporting Niger’s Ministry of Public Health in its efforts to expand access to health products and strengthen the national laboratory network, thereby improving diagnosis, including for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
By ensuring synergy among activities and preventing duplication of efforts, we can support Niger in strengthening its health system, including at the community level.
Avoiding silo-based activity is the raison d’être of the recent partnership agreement between the Global Fund and the AFD.
Under the leadership of national health authorities, we are pursuing greater convergence and synergy among programmes to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, such as those the Global Fund finances, and initiatives to strengthen health systems, such as those in which the AFD invests.
Underscoring the extent to which these two areas are interconnected, the Global Fund is already the largest multilateral provider of grants for strengthening health systems, investing well over $1bn per year in the cause.
By combining our organisations’ strengths, we are reaffirming our commitment to ensuring effective co-operation and co-ordinated action to eradicate HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, and to building strong and resilient health systems, particularly in the most vulnerable countries. The international community has a shared responsibility to fulfil its commitments without leaving anyone behind.
To end the HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria epidemics by 2030, a business-as-usual approach will not suffice. We must step up the fight. That means investing more in health systems and forging effective new partnerships, such as the one between the AFD and the Global Fund.
