Climate change and political conflicts make it difficult to reduce HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. The goal of ending these infectious diseases by 2030 does not seem feasible.
That reports TheGlobalFund, the global fund to fight those diseases, in a report published on Monday. The publication does show that there is a “record acceleration” in the fight against these three infectious diseases. But it will be difficult to continue that trend in the future, says Peter Sands, executive director of TheGlobalFund. “This becomes particularly challenging in environments where people are fleeing uninhabitable areas,” he says in an explanation of the report.
Climate change is creating more and more malaria areas in the world: malaria is spreading in places where it was previously too cold for the Anopheles mosquito that carries the parasite. In addition, conflict areas damage the public health infrastructure: people who become ill no longer have access to medical treatment.
Also read: The number of hungry people is increasing, global food aid is decreasing
And food insecurity and water scarcity are driving people away from their homes, making them more vulnerable to disease. Last year the Netherlands declared 180 million euros TheGlobalFund and is therefore the seventh donor in size.
Climate as the biggest threat
In many of the countries in which TheGlobalFund invests, it has become more difficult to combat the three infectious diseases. According to the organization, climate change is the greatest threat. That has the most impact on malaria. The main change that the organization sees is the emergence of new malaria areas in the highlands of Africa, such as Kenya and Ethiopia.
In addition, it is expected that cyclones, floods and other natural disasters will also cause “a dramatic increase” in the number of malaria infections, for example in countries such as Malawi and Pakistan. “We will continue to lag behind the climate, but we are trying to catch up,” says Sands.
Armed conflicts also complicate the fight against infectious diseases
Due to conflicts, growing inequality and increasing threats to human rights, it is becoming increasingly popular TheGlobalFund It is becoming increasingly difficult to ensure that the most vulnerable people get the care they need. Armed conflicts overwhelm the healthcare system – which is already overloaded – and make it difficult to get medicines to the right place, for example.
More malaria areas
Prevention interventions to prevent diseases in those areas are also interrupted due to conflicts. They make it happen TheGlobalFund difficult to work with aid partners in war zones, such as Sudan, Ukraine, Afghanistan or Myanmar. “In places where bullets are flying, it is a lot more difficult to get a child with a fever to a clinic,” says Sands. “When the hospitals in Ukraine were bombed and people left their homes, we immediately deployed vans from our emergency fund as mobile clinics.”
Also read: Ghana becomes first to approve new ‘world-changing’ malaria vaccine
In some parts of Africa, young girls are more at risk of becoming infected with HIV than boys, for example due to gender-based violence or economic and educational disadvantages. “The Netherlands has played a major leading role in this for years. The Netherlands is committed to gender equality and human rights in vulnerable areas,” says Sands.
According to him, there is a need to invest in sustainable tools to combat deadly infectious diseases while preparing for future health threats.
By 2022, the organization will have invested more than $5.2 billion to fight the diseases. The results exceed the figures before the corona pandemic. Most notably, 220 million mosquito nets were provided last year in the fight against malaria. This represented an increase of more than 17 percent compared to 2021, when 118 million mosquito nets were distributed.
Fight against HIV
There was also progress in the fight against HIV: 24.5 million people received therapy with antiretroviral drugs. This represented an increase of almost 12 percent compared to 2021. 6.7 million people were also treated for tuberculosis last year, more than 42 percent more than the year before.
TheGlobalFund believes it is more important to help as many people as possible for a low price and to invest in innovative tools than to take sustainability into account. This can sometimes conflict with the environmental impact that pharmaceutical companies have, such as greenhouse gas emissions. “When purchasing aids, we try to choose sustainable packaging and means of transport,” says Sands.
To maintain the momentum in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, the organization wants to accelerate fair access to innovative resources. This is how you invest TheGlobalFund in the dapivirine ring, to prevent HIV in women, and in HIV medicines for children. To combat tuberculosis, the organization uses mobile X-ray equipment. Cheaper treatments against tuberculosis are also offered. And in 2024, the updated mosquito net, with two “significantly more effective” mosquito repellents, will be widely available.