The health group faces a challenging funding climate as many donor governments, led by the United States, have pulled out of aid. It has also already warned some countries that its existing grants for 2025-2026 could be cut, resulting in a representational use only | Photo credit: Getty Images
One of the world’s largest global health initiatives will direct more of its resources to the poorest countries to help them manage cuts in foreign aid, its executive director said, warning of widening health inequalities around the world.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is trying to raise $18 billion for its work from 2027 to 2029. But it faces a challenging funding climate as many donor governments, led by the United States, have pulled out of aid. It has already warned some countries that it could see their existing grants cut for 2025-2026.
“We are further diverting our resources to the poorest countries … We are particularly concerned about places where there really is no alternative,” said Peter Sand, executive director of the Global Fund, pointing to places like Sudan, which is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis after two and a half years of civil war.
He said some low-income countries have made huge progress in tackling infectious diseases in recent years, and many are now also trying to mobilize domestic funding to cope with international cuts. But some simply don’t have that capability, he said.
“There are parts of the world that are suffering from a kind of vicious combination of poverty, conflict, climate change and disease, and the idea that … we can leave those parts of the world to their own devices is morally reprehensible,” he said.
Sands spoke to reporters in London ahead of the release of the Global Fund’s 2025 results report, which showed that a record number of people had access to the tools to prevent or treat all three deadly diseases by 2023. The partnership’s work has saved 70 million lives since 2002, the report said.
But Sands said future progress is at risk if funding dries up. The Global Fund had to warn countries this year that they could face an 11% cut in their existing grants because it was unclear whether donors would provide all the money they had originally pledged for the work for 2024-2026. He said the gap is currently around $1.4 billion.
Published – September 13, 2025 07:23 PM IST
