UK cuts to HIV funding is a major blow to ending AIDS by 2030
Following today’s announcement that the UK government will contribute £850 million to the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, Frontline AIDS welcomes the UK pledge, but warns that reducing its contribution risks sending a message to other countries that they can back out of their commitments at such a critical moment for global health. It also undermines the UK’s legacy and commitment to ending AIDS.
The UK’s announcement as co-host of the upcoming Global Fund 8th replenishment in South Africa comes at a challenging time for the global AIDS response. The withdrawal of US funding earlier this year, amounting to around US $60 billion in aid, has left millions of people living with and affected by HIV without access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment services. In this context, the UK’s pledge of £850 million will make a critical difference for people living with or at high risk of HIV, but it is a 15% decline from the UK’s last pledge in 2022.
With the UK co-hosting the Global Fund replenishment, we expected a stronger show of leadership, reflecting a proud UK legacy of support to the global goal of ending AIDSJohn Plastow, Executive Director, Frontline AIDS
Frontline AIDS and our partners are on a mission to end AIDS by 2030. Half of our community-based partner organisations – 27 out of 54 partners – were impacted by the US cuts, with many relying on support from the Global Fund to continue delivering vital services. Donor cuts to the Global Fund pledges, on top of the US funding crisis, will make it harder for us to achieve our goal.
Since it was established in 2002, the Global Fund has saved 70 million lives. In countries where the Global Fund invests, AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 74% and new infections have been reduced by 62%.
The Global Fund must be able to continue its vital support to communities, especially for adolescent girls and young women and key populations, such as transgender women, men who have sex with men and people who use drugs, who have been disproportionately impacted by the aid cuts.
“Almost half of our partners are implementers of Global Fund grants, so we welcome the UK’s contribution to the Global Fund, which we know will make a life and death difference,” said John Plastow, Executive Director at Frontline AIDS.
“With the UK co-hosting the Global Fund replenishment, we expected a stronger show of leadership, reflecting a proud UK legacy of support to the global goal of ending AIDS,” said Plastow. “There is a danger that this drop in its pledge will lead to reductions in other donor commitments, with real risks for people’s lives and for the global response to HIV.”
“The Global Fund supports around 60% of Ukraine’s HIV and TB response — a lifeline that keeps thousands alive amid the war,” said Dr. Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director, Alliance for Public Health, Ukraine, which is a partner of Frontline AIDS. “Any reduction in funding risks reversing years of progress and weakening health security far beyond our borders. We urge the UK to stand firm in its commitment to global health and shared resilience.”
“To support marginalised communities, we call on the UK to make an explicit commitment to increase its Global Fund pledge later in the course of this three-year replenishment, when it is able to source additional funding,” added Plastow.
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