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Global health fund says health, climate, conflict 'triple whammy' strikes world's poorest

Climate modification and conflict threat overshadowing efforts to improve individuals's health, when in reality the concerns overlap, Peter Sands, head of the Global Fund to combat AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said.

He was speaking in London ahead of Thursday's release of the Global Fund's 2024 report covering its work last year, which showed improvement in taking on the three illness after COVID-19 knocked efforts off course.

In spite of the development, Sands said another pandemic legacy is that donor governments are tired of generating income offered for health, raising concerns about next year's financing round to cover the Fund's operate in 2026-2028.

It is definitely the case that international health is rather eclipsed by issues around climate modification and dispute, he said, problems inseparable from health.

The exact same individuals ... the really poorest individuals are being struck by this triple whammy, he stated.

Climate modification kills individuals by increasing malnutrition and causing illness, while disputes can lead to more deaths from the collapse of health care systems than from bullets and bombs.

The Global Fund is the greatest international funder of efforts to eliminate TB and malaria, and second biggest for HIV, investing more than $5 billion a year throughout the 3 illness.

Thursday's annual report showed that in 2023, some 25 million individuals were on antiretroviral therapy, 7.1 million treated for TB, and 227 million mosquito nets were distributed in the countries where the Global Fund works, all enhancements on 2022.

Because the Fund's beginning in 2002, the combined death rate from the 3 illness has been cut by 61%, conserving an approximated 65 million lives, the report stated.

With health partners, the Fund also promotes price decreases for medical materials and accomplished cuts to HIV and TB treatments in 2023, in addition to lower expenses for bednets to safeguard versus the mosquitos which spread out malaria.

Sands said cuts were also needed for what he called amazing new HIV tools like lenacapavir, Gilead Science's long-acting injectable drug.

They need to be at a price point where we can provide them at scale, Sands said.

(source: Reuters)