Advances in global health are leading the way to a safer world

As the world gathers next week for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the focus on the interconnected crises facing the world underlines a crucial truth: today’s challenges are inextricably linked to global health. Many of the General Assembly’s key events – including the High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance and the Future Summit, which aims to reaffirm commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – highlight the urgent need not to responding only to immediate health crises but also addressing their underlying causes.

From climate change displacing communities and increasing exposure to disease, to antimicrobial resistance undermining decades of medical advances, the challenges we face are complex and interconnected. However, our experience in the fight against the world’s deadliest infectious diseases is instructive. Over the past two decades, the Global Fund partnership’s investments in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, and in improving health and community systems in low- and middle-income countries, have saved millions of lives and helped create a more equitable world. . That experience shows us that the path to a safer, more stable world is through global health.

Global efforts to combat the three diseases have had a remarkable impact over the past two decades. In 2001 – the year before the Global Fund was established – as many as 4.6 million people worldwide died from AIDS, TB and malaria. A new one Global Fund Report shows that those deaths have fallen by about half to 2.4 million. Global inequality in life expectancy between countries fell by a third between 2002 and 2019. Reduced mortality from HIV, tuberculosis and malaria accounted for half of this decline.

Over the past twenty years, the Global Fund partnership has saved 65 million lives. Working hand-in-hand with communities, governments, the private sector, civil society and our technical partners, we have reduced the combined death rate from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria by 61%.

These are not just numbers. Each of the 65 million lives saved is a family member, a friend, a neighbor, a teacher, a worker. Every life saved has a multiplying effect on families, communities and entire countries. Every infection prevented not only improves people’s health, but also reduces pressure on healthcare systems, promoting economic stability and supporting social cohesion.

While saving millions of lives is a powerful achievement, there is clear evidence that fighting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and building health and community systems yields far more benefits than reducing deaths. A sharp decline in morbidity from the three diseases results in fewer time off work or school and an overall improvement in the health and well-being of communities. For example, by 2023, the Global Fund’s HIV investments freed up 174 million hospitalization days that would otherwise have been used for HIV-related activities and prevented 154 million outpatient visits, delivering $9.5 billion in cost savings and freeing up valuable resources to address other health issues to grab. priorities.

Despite these hard-won gains and a remarkable recovery from the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria is far from over. A combination of crises is hampering progress towards the SDG 3 target of ending the three diseases by 2030 and threatens to widen global health inequalities.

Climate change destabilizes the foundations of human health, causes extreme poverty and leads to the emergence and spread of infectious diseases. It is the greatest global health challenge of our time and a rapidly escalating threat to efforts to defeat the three diseases.

Intense conflict, growing humanitarian crises and political unrest in many countries are disrupting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programs and reducing the performance of the health care system, with devastating consequences for the poorest and most vulnerable communities.

The rise of interconnected anti-rights and anti-gender movements, together with shrinking social space, prevents those most at risk from HIV, tuberculosis and malaria from getting the services they need.

Antimicrobial resistance increases humanity’s risk of encountering pathogens that are resistant to life-saving medical tools, undermining the effectiveness of antibiotics and treatments for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and endangering billions of lives.

These challenges are truly enormous. But the extraordinary results of the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria – millions of lives and livelihoods saved and billions of dollars in health care costs saved – prove that fighting these diseases makes the world more equitable and better equipped to respond to current and emerging threats.

Stepping up our response to HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and other major infectious diseases is an urgent need in today’s challenging context of interconnected crises.

Creating fair access to innovation is an important part of this response. To bring biomedical innovations to those who need them as quickly as possible, the Global Fund implements market-shaping strategies to ensure fair and affordable access at scale.

To accelerate progress, we also need to significantly scale up investments, strengthen political will and address human rights and gender-related barriers to health. Failure to do so risks perpetuating the threat of infectious diseases, costing lives and overburdening vulnerable healthcare systems.

The discussions during the United Nations General Assembly provide a platform to stimulate international cooperation and involvement. When United Nations Member States seize the opportunity to accelerate progress in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, they will be able to simultaneously strengthen the resilience of healthcare systems worldwide and ensure that healthcare systems are prepared the changing global health challenges. By taking bold action now, we can end these diseases and build a healthier, safer, and more just world for all.