UK pledges £850 million to fight malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS, down 15% from 2022

The United Kingdom said it will invest £850 million (€966 million) in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria – 15 per cent less than its last pledge amid broader cuts to global health funding.

Over the next three years, the money will help fund the work of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, known as the Global Fund, which is one of the biggest organisations working to eliminate these deadly diseases worldwide.

The commitment is down from £1 billion (€1.1 billion) in 2022 and £1.46 billion (€1.67 billion) in 2019, as the UK shifts its priorities away from foreign aid and toward defence. And it comes as major donors across the globe, including the United States and wealthy European countries, slash global health funding.

Advocacy groups had expected cuts of up to £200 million (€227 million), or 20 per cent, from the UK, and said they welcomed the £850 million pledge.

But they warned that the UK’s cuts will have serious consequences in countries that rely on the Global Fund’s programmes, which have been credited with reducing the combined death rate from AIDS, TB, and malaria by 63 per cent since 2002.

“As with other cuts, this impact will quickly be felt on the ground through lives lost, millions of new infections and weakened health defences,” said Katie Husselby, network director for the UK-based Action for Global Health.

Gideon Rabinowitz, policy and advocacy director at the UK nonprofit umbrella group Bond, said the cuts will also risk people’s health closer to home.

“Our ability to respond to future health threats, including pandemics, will also be weakened,” Rabinowitz said.

The UK’s announcement comes at an awkward time. Later this month, it will co-host a meeting with South Africa to replenish the Global Fund’s coffers through 2028. Bond said this is the first time a host country has ever reduced its pledge.

The Global Fund aims to raise $18 billion, which it says could save an estimated 23 million lives between 2027 and 2029.

The UK’s investment could save up to 1.3 million lives, according to UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper.

“The UK's new support for the Global Fund is an investment in our shared security and prosperity,” Cooper said, adding that “no nation can tackle global health threats alone”.