President Biden hosted the Seventh Replenishment Conference for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) last week, raising a record $14.25 billion from government and private sector donors. The United States pledged $1 for every $2 committed to the Global Fund by the other donors, for a total of $6 billion over three years. Fundraising will continue to ensure the target of $18 billion is met; forthcoming pledges from the United Kingdom and Italy are anticipated.

The Replenishment Conference was held alongside the meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City. It brought together representatives of more than 45 countries (including donor governments and implementing partner countries), multilateral partners, civil society, and the private sector to pledge funds to support the Global Fund’s next three-year grant cycle. The Global Fund estimates that the $18 billion grant cycle will save 20 million more lives, cut HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria deaths by almost two-thirds, strengthen health systems, and build a healthier, more equitable world.

The Global FundExit Disclaimer, founded in 2002, is an independent, multilateral financing entity designed to raise significant resources and accelerate efforts to end the AIDS, TB, and malaria epidemics. Over the past 20 years, the Global Fund has invested more than $53 billion, saving 44 million lives and reducing the combined death rate from HIV, TB, and malaria by more than half in the more than 100 low- and middle-income countries where the Global Fund invests. The Global Fund provides 30% of all international financing for HIV programs and collaborates closely with the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The Global Fund and PEPFAR are critical to sustaining and building upon our progress in the HIV/AIDS response.

This replenishment reflects the Biden administration’s commitment – both in the United States and around the world – to a strong recovery from COVID-19 and support for health equity. In his remarks at the conference, President Biden said, “We have to ensure that everyone — no matter who they are, who they love, where they come from — can access care and treatment they need, period…and that they’re treated with the dignity they deserve. Everyone should be able to lead a healthy, productive, and fulfilling life. That’s our goal.”

A White House factsheet notes that “the U.S. Government’s substantial investments in these health priorities reflect its commitment to working with partners to strengthen health systems and end these epidemics, including ending HIV here in the United States.”

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra participated in the opening session of the conference and shared on TwitterExit Disclaimer afterward, “The U.S. is proud to be a founding contributor & largest single donor to the Global Fund, a commitment we're determined to maintain and strengthen, so we can better fight HIV, TB, & malaria and save more lives worldwide.”

Harold Phillips, Director of the White House’s Office of National AIDS Policy, also participated in the conference. During a session titled “How the Global Fund Partnership Works to End Inequity,” he reflected on the Biden-Harris administration's efforts to integrate health equity into domestic policymaking so that we end the HIV epidemic for everyone and don’t leave behind any populations. He shared how the National HIV/AIDS Strategy centers health equity and the communities most impacted by the HIV epidemic, calling for people with lived experiences to be at the forefront of creating and implementing policies and programs to serve these populations. He also highlighted the proposed national pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program as one example of the administration’s efforts to address equity issues underlying access to and use of this powerful HIV prevention tool.