You report that the UK has shortsightedly reduced funding for the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and looks to be continuing its abandonment of its earlier strong leadership in global development (UK cuts contribution to Aids, tuberculosis and malaria fund by £150m, 11 November).
The fund has an impressive track record, with 70 million lives saved since 2022. However, much more needs to be done to build regional capacity for medicine and vaccine production, improve the accessibility, effectiveness and robustness of indigenous health systems, and scale up proven prevention initiatives aimed at reducing future pandemics, illness and death. These are the very actions that will be sacrificed to protect the ongoing purchase of life-saving commodities.
