At Replenishment Conference of Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Secretary-General Calls for Unified Fight against Antimicrobial Resistance

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the fifth Global Fund Replenishment Conference, in Montreal today:

Today we celebrate 15 years of achievement and we look forward to even more success in the critical years to come.  Since it was established, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has helped to save some 20 million people.  Its example of working for countries, communities and groups most in need provides a firm foundation for the new era of opportunity that began this year.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a road map for people, planet, peace and prosperity through global partnership.  We are now here to bring this global partnership to make this planet Earth and people more prosperous and live in a peaceful world.

It is built on the principle of partnership, and its object is to leave no one behind, wherever you are coming from, no matter what ethnicity or belief you may have.  That is what the Global Fund is about, and I am very proud of role that United Nations organizations have played and will continue to play, together with you.

Over the next 15 years, we must all work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals for everyone, everywhere.  The 17 SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] are holistic, universal and integrated.  You should know that nothing, not any one single Goal among 17 Goals, can operate and should not operate in isolation.  They are all tightly integrated.  They encompass gender equality, human rights, water and sanitation, education, governance, peace and stability.

Working to end HIV, TB [tuberculosis] and malaria is intrinsic to the SDGs, and each of the SDGs has a bearing on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all, at all ages.  That is why the Global Fund has sharpened its focus on human rights, key populations and gender equality in its new strategic framework.

It is also why the Fund’s report emphasizes the importance of schooling and equal education, equal opportunity for adolescent girls to prevent HIV.  And it is why we must improve living conditions in crowded urban slums to fight tuberculosis, and address water management and sanitation to eliminate malaria.  And it is also why we need strong and resilient health systems that are accessible to all people.

Universal health coverage is one of the SDG 3 targets.  This will need significant investment, and the Global Fund has an important role.  More than 40 per cent of Global Fund investments are for resilient and sustainable health systems, and that is set to increase.  This is essential for sustaining gains already made and for building on them.

The Global Fund has also been a strong driver of increased domestic health investment in many countries.  The Fund is a model of partnership that brings together people and development partners, Governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by diseases.  This is how we will achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  Working together and transcending sectoral boundaries is the only way to tackle the interconnected challenges that determine human well-being.

One emerging challenge is antimicrobial resistance.  This threatens our response to all three diseases.  It is such a threat to global health that world leaders are meeting to discuss the issue on 21 September at the United Nations General Assembly.  I urge the Global Fund to join this fight.

And I encourage all partners to contribute generously to the Fund.  Several partners are making significantly larger pledges in this Replenishment, and there are commitments from many new partners, including a doubling of private sector contributions.  They are doing so because the Global Fund has already proven that it can deliver real results.

We have the knowledge and tools to end HIV, TB and malaria by 2030.  This is our target and ambition, and our vision to make this world better, this planet Earth healthier and environmentally sustainable, where everybody can live without any fear and also with human dignity.

Let us work together to make this world healthier and better for all.  I count on your strong commitment and leadership.  Thank you for your strong leadership, thank you very much.