Canada must renew support to fight AIDS, TB abroad, advocates urge

Several Canadian civil society organizations are calling on Ottawa to invest $1.37 billion over three years for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

AIDS activists are urging the federal government to quickly renew Canada’s support for fighting infectious diseases abroad, warning delays will further hinder global efforts to combat key illnesses.

“While some of the other nations around the world are retreating right now from investing in global health, Canada can and should be stepping forward swiftly, to save lives,” said Justin McAuley, a director with the Canadian branch of the ONE Campaign.

His group is among 24 Canadian civil society organizations that asked the government to allocate $1.37 billion over three years for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

The fund is affiliated with the United Nations, and it supports developing countries in limiting and treating the three preventable illnesses, which in many regions are among the leading causes of death.

Canada is one of the world’s top supporters of the fund, which makes up the largest chunk of Ottawa’s global health spending. Canada has contributed nearly $5 billion to the Global Fund since 2002, and the fund estimates it has saved 65 million lives in that time.

Countries replenish the fund every three years, with their contributions usually rising over time as health-care systems build more capacity to treat and prevent these diseases.

In each cycle, civil society groups issue what they call a fair-share metric to reflect how much each wealthy country can reasonably pledge to help the fund reach its goals.

The office of Randeep Sarai, secretary of state for international development, referred questions about the $1.37 billion request to Global Affairs Canada.