World AIDS Day: Statement of Friends of the Global Fund Europe’s Board
Amidst unprecedented jeopardy, an important milestone for global health was reached last November 21st in Johannesburg, with $11.34 billion raised by The Global Fund for its 8th replenishment, thanks to the intense mobilization of stakeholders and allies across the globe. However, this amount will not be sufficient to maintain coverage of essential life-saving services, especially among groups who face the greatest access barriers – young women and adolescent girls, key populations, and children under five years of age, and to accelerate access to health innovations bringing hope to affected populations and protecting everyone around the world from the spread of epidemics. HIV is one of the drivers of TB, the world’s deadliest infectious disease.
On World AIDS Day 2025, we face a paradox. Over the past two decades, we have developed the science, the know-how, and the partnerships to convert dollars into lives saved and achieve tremendous progress. In countries where The Global Fund invests, AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 74% since The Global Fund was founded in 2002. A new prevention tool that brings down new infections close to zero – long-lasting injectable Lenacapavir – is a game-changer. However, in 2025, 2.5 million people are estimated to have lost access to HIV prevention, hit by massive service disruptions in global health.
The 8th replenishment campaign of The Global Fund is not over, much remains to be done by February 2026, when The Global Fund Board will determine country allocations for 2027-2029 to fight HIV, tuberculosis and malaria while strengthening health systems. Friends Europe calls European donors who did not pledge yet, especially France and the European Commission, to join the collective effort and commitment to mobilize the resources necessary to protect societies from the threat of killer pandemics.