Ban helps breathe new life into fight against HIV, malaria and TB
“We either win this fight or we lose it.” That is Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s main message in a new video spotlighting the progress made by the United Nations-backed Global Fund in combating AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
“We either win this fight or we lose it.” That is Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s main message in a new video spotlighting the progress made by the United Nations-backed Global Fund in combating AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
“There can be no let up in the fight against the three diseases,” Mr. Ban stressed, calling for international solidarity to fight the diseases. “If we ease up, these diseases will re-emerge.”
He praised the Global Fund for its flexibility, underlining that it does not make “one-size-fits-all” recommendations.
It has also helped, the Secretary-General said, to accelerate progress towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.
Since its establishment in 2002, the Global Fund has approved proposals totalling nearly $20 billion, making it the main contributor to the health-related MDGs.
The video also features his predecessor, Kofi Annan, as well as musician Bono and France’s First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, who is also the Global Fund’s Ambassador for the protection of mothers and children against AIDS.
Next week, the Fund will launch the ‘Born HIV Free’ campaign, which aims to mobilize public support for its work and for a world where no child is born with HIV by 2015.
The organization calls 2010 a decisive year in the fight against AIDS, malaria and TB, since this year will see the world both review progress on the MDGs and countries renew their financial commitments to the Fund.