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A coalition of major donors, advocates and MPs have endorsed a letter to the editor-in-chief Independent, Geordie Greig is urging Sir Keir Starmer to protect UK funding For global hiv response – or risk missing out on an ‘incredible opportunity’ end the AIDS epidemic Within the next few years”.
In 2024, the world was on track to end the pandemic by 2030, but devastating aid cuts This year, rich countries including the UK and US have cast this possibility into doubt.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National AIDS Trust, Médecins Sans Frontieres and the StopAIDS coalition are among the groups supporting it. IndependentCall to protect funding.
“Despite being so close to the finishing line, the failure to sustain global funding and progress means we could return to the peak of the crisis two decades ago, when people were dying on large scale, and health care systems around the world were overwhelmed,” the letter said.
Britain is cutting its total foreign aid funding by 40 percent to spend more on defense. As part of the move, the government last month announced a 15 percent cut to the Global Fund, a leading international provider of HIV prevention and treatment. 255,000 people lost their lives In the next three years.
By the end of January, the Foreign Office is expected to confirm where further cuts will be made over the next three years, with key decisions still to be made.
As well as donations, MPs including former International Development Secretary Sir Andrew Mitchell and David Mundell, co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on HIV/AIDS, have also supported the call to protect vital funding and save lives.
Despite cuts to Global Fund, advocates still welcome UK’s “significant commitment” Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria Of £850m. Mike Podmore, chief executive of StopAIDS, a network of UK agencies working on the global response to HIV, said the contribution was “really important”.
But he said more funding was needed for three “crucial” institutions in the global HIV response: the UN agency UNAIDS; drug access agency Unitaid; and the Robert Carr Fund, which ensures that marginalized people most affected by HIV are included.
To maintain current funding levels, the government will need to commit approximately £200m over three years.
According to the latest UN estimates, unless global HIV funding is preserved, there will be more than 4 million additional deaths and infections by 2030.
Earlier this month, Sir Keir pledged to eliminate HIV transmission in England by 2030. Building on this commitment, the letter urges the Prime Minister to “extend it to the rest of the world and pave the way to end AIDS by 2030”.
Mr Mundell, the Conservative MP, said the ambition to end new HIV transmissions was a rare global target that could actually be achieved by 2030: “When we have come this far, we do not want to give up that possibility.
“There is a relatively straightforward solution to stop so many people dying or suffering. Most people are sympathetic to that. But in the most basic terms, we are trying to stop infections coming into our country and then having a significant impact on our health service.”
Sir Andrew said: “Decades before Covid, the emergence of HIV/AIDS overwhelmed health systems and led to terrifying public awareness campaigns.
“Nobody imagined at the time that a cure could be found so quickly, but Britain invested heavily in the global search for it, resulting in almost miraculous progress. What was once a death sentence is now largely avoidable with the right treatment.”
Now, however, he said: “Budget cuts threaten to undo the progress we have made globally, with some forecasts leading to a huge increase in deaths over the next few years.
“We cannot afford to take our foot off the pedal. We have a real chance to make AIDS history, and if Britain fails to play its vital role now we will look back with shame and disgrace.”
Mr Podmore said the timeline for potentially conquering the virus is too short: “We are signing the letter because this is an incredible opportunity for the UK Government to invest hope and commit to the real possibility of ending AIDS in five years’ time.
“In a global context of conflict and challenge, ending one of the world’s worst pandemics is a victory. It will truly inspire us all and show what true global collaboration can do. This is an important time for a decision by the UK Government.”
Along with security of money, IndependentThe letter calls on the UK Government to fund new HIV innovations that make this target a realistic possibility.
John Plaistow, chief executive of the UK-based global HIV charity Frontline AIDS, said the new long-acting prevention drugs are “potential game changers that could help us achieve our mission to end AIDS.
“But we need investment to ensure that the communities most affected by HIV can access those technologies.”
Such a medicine, lenacapavirCould prevent virtually all HIV infections and could hit the market as early as this year. However, experts are concerned about the jab – which is the closest we have to an HIV vaccine – won’t reach enough people To turn the situation around amid funding cuts.
Mr Plaistow said, “Backing back now would be a catastrophic mistake: progress would stall, the number of people dying from AIDS-related diseases and those infected with HIV would increase, and there would be a risk of years of gains being reversed.”
“With this modest but strategic commitment, the UK can help turn the promise of ending AIDS by 2030 into reality,” he said in the letter.
This letter comes after a round table meeting held in Parliament Independent And a cross-party group of MPs is working to promote the rights of people living with HIV.
This article was produced as part of The Independent Rethinking global aid Project