After being severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, efforts to combat AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria started to recover last year. However, the world is still not on track to eradicating these deadly diseases, according to a report.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said in its 2022 report, which was released on Monday (Sep 12), that the number of individuals reached with treatment and prevention initiatives increased last year after decreasing for the first time in almost 20 years in 2020.
Peter Sands, the executive director of the Fund, a Geneva-based public-private coalition, claimed that not all of the lost ground had been made up. "Most countries have done an impressive job of bouncing back from the terrible disruption of 2020 ... but we are not where we want to be. Far too many people are still dying of these diseases," he said.
For instance, the number of people receiving tuberculosis treatment decreased by 19% to 4.5 million in 2020. This increased by 13% in 2021 to 5.3 million, which is still slightly less than the 5.5 million people receiving treatment prior to the pandemic. While malaria and AIDS programs did do better than in 2019, the impact of the epidemic means they are still falling short of their goal of eradicating the diseases by 2030.
Sands further stated that the situation would get worse as a result of the effects of the world food crisis, which has been made worse by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
People whose bodies are weak from malnutrition typically die from infectious diseases far more quickly, and they also do not respond as well to therapy or prevention attempts. Sands stated that in order to continue saving lives, it was "likely" that the Fund would need to collaborate with partners to offer greater nutritional support than it ever had.
Based on the report, since the Fund's founding in 2002, it has helped save the lives of almost 50 million people in various nations. From March 2020, it invested US$4.4 billion to battle the epidemic and lessen the effects of COVID-19 on its main areas.
The Global Fund is now attempting to gather US$18 billion from governments, civil society, and the business sector for its upcoming three-year funding cycle in order to carry out its activities. More than a third of the sum has already been raised, and next week, US President Joe Biden will host a pledge conference.
