UK’s £150m cut to global fund fighting deadly diseases forces ‘impossible life-or-death decisions’
The UK has announced it will cut £150 million of its contribution to the international fight against AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria; This puts the lives of approximately 250,000 people, mostly children, at risk. Charities say the cut will force authorities into “impossible, life-or-death decisions”.
The UK has committed £850 million over the next three years to the work of the Global Fund; The figure is £1bn in 2022, down from £1.4bn in 2019. This comes as part of plans to divert money from foreign aid for defence.
Independent 15 percent cut announced On Friday, seven Labor MPs who served as ministers under Keir Starmer also wrote to the prime minister warning the cut would be a “moral failure”.
International Development Minister Jenny Chapman told parliament: “I am proud to announce that we will invest £850 million in the Global Fund for 2026-2028 to deliver life-saving prevention, testing and treatment services.
“This commitment is not only a moral imperative, but also a strategic investment in global and national health security and broader economic growth and stability.”
He added: “The decision about the UK’s commitment to the Global Fund was taken in the context of this government’s difficult decision to reduce development aid spending from 0.5 per cent. [national income] to 0.3 percent to finance increased spending on our defense and national security.”
The Global Fund aims to raise $18 billion (around £14 billion) to save an estimated 23 million lives between 2027 and 2029. The worldwide NGO ONE campaign calculates that the UK’s £1 billion pledge will save 1.7 million lives; so a £150 million drop could result in over 250,000 lives being lost.
Labor MP Fleur Anderson was one of those who wrote to Sir Keir. he said Independent He said that Baroness Chapman’s statement concealed the step back taken by England: “It is important to be a leader as a country,” he said. “We are taking our place on the global stage and this is one of the ways we can make sure our actions back up our words.
“Defense funding is increasing, but there needs to be a balance between our diplomacy and development financing to ensure our security.”
The Global Fund uses contributions from wealthier governments, including the United Kingdom, to pay for a significant portion of worldwide programs to combat HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Ms Anderson said she was concerned that aid cuts would cause successful drug and vaccine funders to compete with each other for funding.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The UK’s new support for the Global Fund is an investment in our shared security and prosperity.
“No country can tackle global health threats alone. As we host this vital funding boost with South Africa, we call on all our partners to join us in building a safer, healthier world for everyone.”
Adrian Lovett, UK chief executive of the ONE Campaign, which advocates investment in Africa, said the pledge could help save around 1.4 million lives over the next three years. “But if the government had followed through on the UK’s previous commitment it could have helped save a further 255,000 lives, many of them children,” he added. “Labour’s devastating 40 per cent cut from the total budget for international aid has forced officials into impossible, life-or-death decisions.”
The UK’s pledge announcement comes ahead of the fund’s official fundraising event on 21 November, which Sir Keir Starmer is co-hosting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Catherine West, another Labor MP who wrote to the prime minister on Friday, said that given Britain’s role, “it would be a shame not to be as generous as possible.” Independent.
Ms West said she welcomed the figure, which she feared could be lower, especially in light of the “tough budget we have in two weeks”.
“I’m really pleased that both Jenny Chapman and the Prime Minister have agreed that this is a really valuable and important fund.”
But Mike Podmore, chief executive of UK-based HIV charity STOPAIDs, said the UK’s diminished commitment “puts at risk the real possibility of ending AIDS by 2030”.
“While still a major contribution, a reduction could also limit the Global Fund’s ability to sustain current progress and deliver its life-saving work, from prevention to access to medicines.
Labor MP Kerry McCarthy said he stood by the fears set out in a letter to the prime minister on Friday. “I’m concerned about the diminishing commitment,” he said.
“We know spending is limited,” he added, but the Global Fund was “an area where we could put our money and know that it had a really good impact. I think the important thing about it is that it also supports governments in these countries. It’s not just aid. It makes it easier for these governments to control HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in their countries.”
Chief Scientific Officer of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Dr. Kavindhran Velen said: “Now is not the time to cut funding and involvement in the fight against tuberculosis – we can do that when the job is done” and added that the “devastating impact” of cuts in the US had created a moment for the UK to “step up rather than retreat”.
Gareth Jenkins, Malaria No More UK chief executive, said: “This is a disappointing step back from the UK’s long-held leadership in the fight against malaria.
“Losing our guard now could cost the lives of tens of thousands more children, hurting Africa’s next generation. The economic consequences could also be severe, with billions of dollars wiped out of sub-Saharan African economies and weak trading partnerships damaging the UK’s own growth prospects.”
The government said the fund would take a larger share of the health aid budget, indicating that the depth of pain in these areas would lead to even deeper cuts.
Baroness Chapman has previously said that other recipients of aid money from the UK, including services that specifically support women and girls, would lose most or all of their funding, as she cut 40 per cent of the aid budget overall.
Mr Lovett, of the ONE Campaign, said: “In the context of major cuts to the overall budget for international aid, this investment in the Global Fund is a welcome commitment to collective efforts to tackle HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria – but ministers need to go further.
“Investing in the fight against these deadly diseases has broad public support. They recognize that it is not only the right thing, but also in our own interests. Viruses and diseases do not stop at borders, so when we invest in healthier lives abroad, we also make ourselves safer at home.”
This article was produced as part of The Independent. Rethinking Global Aid project
