About Global Fund:
- The Global Fund is a worldwide movement to defeat HIV, TB and malaria and ensure a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all.
- It was set up in 2002.
- Partners of this initiative: Governments, civil society, health workers and the private sector.
- Funding:
- It raises funds on a three-year cycle, bringing longer-term predictability in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria.
- The funding primarily comes from the public sector, with 92% of total funding coming from donor governments. The remaining funding comes from the private sector, foundations and innovative financing initiatives.
- India joined the Global Fund as a donor in 2006 and pledged US$25 million for the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment, covering 2023-2025.
Key facts about the recent agreement
- It would make it possible to provide the advanced pill known as TLD for under $45 per person per year.
- The three-in-one pill bands together the drugs tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine and dolutegravir.
- The World Health Organization has recommended it as the preferred first-line HIV treatment for adults and adolescents since it rapidly suppresses the virus that causes AIDS.
What is HIV?
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an infection that attacks the body’s immune system.
- Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the most advanced stage of the disease.
- HIV targets the body’s white blood cells, weakening the immune system.
- This makes it easier to get sick with diseases like tuberculosis, infections and some cancers.
- It is spread from the body fluids of an infected person, including blood, breast milk, semen and vaginal fluids.
- It can be treated and prevented with antiretroviral therapy (ART).
