Tuberculosis is an ancient disease, but not a disease of the past. Over 2 billion people are infected with the TB bacterium – roughly one-third of the world’s population. TB killed 1.7 million people in 2007 - an avoidable tragedy because TB is curable, often for as little as $20 per person.
In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the Global Plan to Stop TB, an initiative to eliminate TB as a public health problem worldwide. Since the initiative’s launch, excellent advances have been made in developing badly needed new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines. However, we still are not reaching the most vulnerable populations who need TB testing, treatment and support.
To win the fight against TB we need better preventative and diagnostic tools and better treatments and we need to get them to the people most at risk. Globally, 80% of the cases are in 22 “high-burden countries” amongst the poorest of the poor. The highest rates are in sub-Saharan Africa where TB is the number one opportunistic infection killing people whose immune systems are already compromised by HIV (called HIV/TB co-infection). Aboriginal people, people in remote and rural areas around the world are also among the most vulnerable populations.
Long-term, sustained commitments are needed to meet the goals set out in the Global Plan to Stop TB which would halve prevalence by 2015 (part of MDG Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases) and eliminate TB globally as a public health concern in our lifetimes.
Results Canada views the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria as the main mechanism to increase resources towards detecting, treating, and preventing TB. Each year 6 million people around the world are killed from HIV/AIDS,TB and malaria. These three deadly diseases undermine efforts to raise living standards and eradicate poverty in many of the world's worst affected countries. The single largest financier in the fight against these major diseases ravaging the developing world is the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
The Global Fund is an innovative, multi-lateral global partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities that combines resources towards fighting AIDS, TB and malaria through grants programs. Founded on a performance-based, demand driven model to ensure that only the most effective and successful programs are funded, the Global Fund epitomizes efficiency in combating the three diseases. No other multilateral funding mechanism for health has yielded the incredible success and impact that the Global Fund has in the short time span it has been operational.
The incredible success of the Global Fund has lead to increased demand. Over the years, grant-recipient-countries have increased their experience and ramped up successful projects and are having impact. Now they are looking to scale up. In 2009, the Global Fund approved $3.1 billion in funding for project proposals, more so than any other year. But as more and more solid proposals for funding from developing nations continue to stream in, donor funding must keep up. Without an infusion of support, new proposals will go unfunded and people will die needlessly.
