Key harm reduction messages for the replenishment conference

In advance of the Global Fund Seventh Replenishment Conference to be hosted by President Biden in New York on September 19, 2022, the Network of People who use Drugs (INPUD), the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) and Harm Reduction International (HRI) developed key harm reduction messages for the Global Fund Replenishment Conference, implementation of the new Global Fund Strategy and the Global Fund’s New Funding Model (NFM4) cycle.

Harm reduction investment from international donors and governments in low and middle-income (LMI) countries totalled US$131 million in 2019 – just 5% of the US$2.7 billion UNAIDS estimates is required annually by 2025 for an effective HIV response among people who inject drugs. The Global Fund is the largest donor for harm reduction, providing at least 60% of all international donor support. The outcome of the replenishment will have significant consequences for harm reduction. The protection and scale-up of harm reduction programmes in low- and middle-income countries requires a fully funded Global Fund. An underfunded Global Fund will result in service closures, a reversal of gains made in HIV prevention among people who use drugs and ultimately, lives lost.

INPUD, EHRA and HRI urge the Global Fund and the wider donor community to be proactive in protecting harm reduction within all replenishment scenarios, in implementation of the Global Fund Strategy 2023-2028 and during the NFM4 cycle. Their recommendations centre on the following five areas:

  1. Harm reduction funding must be protected from any replenishment shortfall
  2. Catalytic investments for harm reduction and key populations must continue regardless of replenishment outcome
  3. Funding for community-led responses must be prioritised within NFM4, both for harm reduction and pandemic preparedness and responses
  4. Funding for efforts to increase domestic investment in harm reduction, and broader key population programming must be increased
  5. Funding for harm reduction in crisis must be protected and prioritised

The document with full explanation of the recommendation is available following this link>>>.

 

The Global Fund 7th Replenishment

The Global Fund raises funds in three-year cycles known as Replenishments. This year, the Global Fund are entering into Seventh Replenishment cycle, covering the period 2023-2025.

The Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment is the world’s opportunity to rise to the challenge and take bold action. We can turbocharge progress in the fight against HIV, TB and malaria, regaining ground lost during the pandemic and getting back on track toward finally ending these three pandemics by 2030. We can also deliver a step change in pandemic preparedness, strengthening the overall resilience of systems for health by investing in their capacities to prevent, detect and respond to new health threats. By taking an integrated approach to the pursuit of these two complementary objectives, we can maximize the impact of every dollar.

(From the Investment Case for the Seventh Replenishment)

 

 

The Global Fund’s target for the Seventh Replenishment is to raise at least 18 billion USD to fight HIV, TB and malaria and build stronger systems for health. It is estimated that one-third (6 billion USD) will be investments in health systems that both support the ongoing fight against HIV, TB and malaria and reinforce pandemic preparedness.

These funds will be used to:

  • Help the world #GetBackOnTrack to end AIDS, TB and malaria as epidemics, and save 20 million lives between 2024 and 2026.
  • Reduce the death toll across the three diseases to 950,000 in 2026, down from 25 million in 2020.
  • Avert more than 450 million infections through reducing the incidence rate by 58% across the three diseases by 2026.

The civil society is coming together to celebrate The Global Week of Action.  It is co-organised by the Civil Society for Malaria Elimination (CS4ME), Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN), GFAN Africa, and GFAN Asia-Pacific (GFAN AP), and follows the #LoveMoreGiveMore campaign carried out with partners during the Sixth Replenishment in 2019.

This Global Week of Action is hoping to mobilise communities and civil society collectively to:

  • Create momentum around the Seventh Replenishment of the Global Fund at the national, regional, and global levels through gathering communities and civil society to come together collectively through action.
  • Raise awareness through the diplomatic channels of donor embassies of the Global Fund for the Seventh Replenishment using key messages of the Investment Case presented at the Preparatory Meeting.
  • Build and/or strengthen partnerships nationally, including with donor embassies.

 

US Senate plans increasing the contribution to the Global Fund by 15.6%

One month before the Replenishment Conference to be hosted in Lyon, France, good news came from the US.  Their Senate plans increasing the contribution of this single largest donor of the Global Fund by 15.6%! This is the first increase in six years and the third largest increase since the Global Fund was founded. The Senate included language affirming it anticipates funding at this level through the Global Fund’s 6th Replenishment cycle.

Excerpts from the media release of the Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Today the Senate Appropriations Committee posted the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs fiscal year 2020 funding bill, increasing funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) to $1.56 billion in fiscal year 2020, a 15.6 percent increase from the previous year. The bill is expected to be considered by the full Senate.

The report accompanying the appropriations bill also specified that the Senate Committee anticipates maintaining this appropriation level in fiscal years 2021 and 2022, coinciding with the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment cycle:

“The Committee recommends $1,560,000,000 for a U.S. contribution to the Global Fund. In advance of the Global Fund Replenishment Conference in 2019, the Committee anticipates that the United States will pledge not less than this amount for each of the three fiscal years pertaining to the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment. The Committee does not support the administration’s proposal to amend the longstanding matching rates for U.S. contributions to the Global Fund and expects the United States to continue to match other donor contributions at a rate of $1 for every $2 received from other donors.”

A $1.56 billion annual appropriation would translate to a $4.68 billion U.S. contribution over the three-year Replenishment cycle, helping the Global Fund meet its goal of at least $14 billion.

Congress has firmly rejected the President’s proposed cuts and affirmed America’s support for the Global Fund and dedication to ending the world’s deadliest infectious diseases.

Over the summer, several countries announced their pledges for the next three years – Germany, Switzerland, Canada, the European Union, Italy, Japan, UK, South Korea, even India. All will increase their contributions. The European countries (and the EU together with the individual countries are the largest contributor to the Global Fund!) in average increase by 15%.

Global Fund Replenishment Conference FAQ

The Global Fund Replenishment Conference that takes place every 3 years. The aim of the conference is to raise funds and mobilize partners in the fight to end AIDS, TB and malaria.

The sixth Replenishment conference will take place on October 10 in Lyon, France at Palais des congrès de Lyon. This is the first time France (the second largest donor to the Fund) is playing host.

The target for the Sixth Replenishment Conference is to collect 14 billion USD over the next 3 years. This is an ambitious target, but the funds would save 16 million lives and prevent 234 million new infections between 2021 and 2023.

If you want to know more, read the FAQ webpage created by RED following this link>>>.