Global Fund to prioritise poorest amid aid cuts

One of the world’s largest global health initiatives will shift more of its resources to the poorest countries to help them manage cuts in foreign aid, its CEO said, warning of widening health inequalities worldwide.

The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria is trying to raise $18bn (R315.36bn) for its work from 2027-2029, but it faces a challenging funding climate as many donor governments, led by the US, have pulled back from aid.

It has also already warned some countries their existing grants for 2025-2026 may be cut as a result.

“We’re skewing our resources more to the poorest countries. We are particularly concerned about places where there is no alternative,” said Peter Sands, CEO of the Global Fund, pointing to places such as Sudan, which is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis after two-and-a-half years of civil war.

Some low-income countries have made huge progress in tackling infectious disease in recent years and many are also now trying to mobilise domestic funding to cope with international cuts, but some do not have that option, he said.

“There are some parts of the world which are suffering from a sort of vicious combination of poverty, conflict, climate change and disease and the idea that we can leave those parts of their world to their own devices is morally repugnant.”

Sands was speaking to reporters in London before the release of the Global Fund’s 2025 results report on Wednesday, which showed record numbers of people had access to tools to prevent or treat all three deadly diseases in 2023.

Since 2002 the partnership’s work has saved 70-million lives, the report said.

But Sands said future progress was at risk if funding dries up. The Global Fund had to warn countries this year that they may face an 11% cut on average to their grants, as it is unclear if donors will give all the money they initially pledged for work in 2024-2026. The gap is now about $1.4bn (R24.53bn), he said.

Reuters