World Leaders Pledge Billions to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria

Facts

On Wednesday, a donor conference on the sidelines of the UN's annual General Assembly raised a record $14.25B for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. World leaders seek to fight the deadly diseases after progress was delayed by the COVID pandemic.
The fund started in 2002 and seeks $18B for the next three-year funding cycle from governments, civil society, and the private sector. Before Wednesday's conference, it had already raised more than a third of this total.
US Pres. Joe Biden hosted the conference in New York and said the funding is crucial to combating the diseases. Under US law, Washington — which pledged $6B — cannot provide more than one-third of the funding, a limit designed to serve as a matching challenge for other nations.
While the conference was met with new donors and saw a range of countries significantly increase their contributions, two of its major donors — Italy and the UK — have yet to announce their pledges.
According to the fund's estimates, it has reduced the death toll from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria by 50% over the past 20 years, reportedly saving more than 50M lives.
Of all international financing, the Global Fund provides 30% for HIV programs, 76% for tuberculosis initiatives, and 63% for malaria projects.

Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Global Fund. Although the job is far from done, the conference was a huge success and an encouraging display of global solidarity. The world has demonstrated that HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis can be defeated through science, leadership, and a critical mass of resources. This latest development should be celebrated.
Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. While this is a step in the right direction, unfortunately, it isn't enough. Even when the UK and Italy make their pledges, the total will likely not meet the planned target — a failure that will mean fewer screening campaigns, fewer treatments, less funding for community health centers, and less strengthening of health systems.