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“Covid has made us forget HIV, TB and malaria, but we are reacting”

by admin

* Executive Director of the Global Fund for the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria

The impact of Covid-19 on HIV, TB and malaria is in no way comparable to what we have seen in the 20 years of fighting these diseases. Although our path over the past two decades has been littered with obstacles, we have always managed to overcome them. Until now. Covid-19 has pushed us significantly astray. The new pandemic has been devastating for TB. In 2020, the number of people being treated for drug-resistant TB in countries where the Global Fund invests decreased by 19% and the number of those being treated for extensively drug-resistant TB fell by 37%. This means that about one million fewer people with TB were treated in 2020 than in 2019.

2020: a year held hostage by Covid-19

by Simone Valesini


The impact on HIV was equally significant. While it is encouraging to know that the number of HIV-positive people undergoing antiretroviral therapy has continued to rise, the declines in prevention and testing services in 2020 were worrying. The number of people reached by HIV prevention programs and services decreased by 11%, while the number of tests performed to detect this virus decreased by 22% compared to 2019. Due to the disruptions caused by Covid-19 , those at greatest risk of infection have had less access to the information and tools they need to protect themselves.

The intervention

“The effectiveness of the response against Covid also against HIV, malaria and tuberculosis”

at Peter Sands


So far, it appears that the impact of Covid-19 on interventions aimed at fighting malaria has been lower than the other two diseases. Except for suspected malaria cases tested, which recorded a 4% reduction compared to 2019, the rapid adaptation of malaria-related services appears to have limited the turnaround. However, progress has come to a halt: we have not seen the annual growth in malaria service delivery we need to defeat the disease.

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These numbers fully confirm what we feared might have happened when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. In many countries, Covid-19 has put health systems in crisis, lockdowns have compromised the provision of services, and fundamental resources have been diverted from the fight against HIV, TB and malaria to the fight against the new virus. The pandemic has disproportionately affected the people most affected by pre-existing diseases: the poor, the marginalized and those without access to health care. People have avoided going to health centers to undergo treatment for fear of contracting Covid-19 or being victims of stigma as they have Covid-like symptoms such as cough or fever, which are also treatable symptoms of malaria or TB.

Covid and malaria: the genetic relationship that could protect against infection

by Claudia Carucci


However, it could have been even worse without the swift and determined actions that have been implemented by the Global Fund partnership to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on these three diseases. Decades of experience in the fight against HIV, TB and malaria with the support of the Global Fund have allowed many low and middle income countries to respond quickly to Covid-19, through the use of laboratories, disease monitoring tools, community networks, supply chains and skilled health personnel created to fight HIV, TB and malaria. By the end of 2020, we had invested around $ 1 billion to support more than 100 countries in the fight against Covid-19 and mitigate its impact on HIV, TB and malaria. To save lives from both the direct and indirect impact of Covid-19, we have worked intensively with our partners around the world, in countries and using the Act-Accelerator initiative.

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“We will only end AIDS if we reduce inequalities”

by Winnie Byanyma and Peter Sands


These efforts have averted an even more catastrophic impact on HIV TB and malaria. Yet, the setback we have seen means the inevitable increase in infections and deaths, which reverses the positive course we have been on for many years. Even more worrying is what is happening in 2021, which has seen the highly transmissible Delta variant cause havoc in many countries, again putting health systems in crisis and undermining programs related to other diseases.

Because of this, we have increased our investments in the fight against Covid-19. As of August 2021, we have approved an additional $ 2.3 billion in appropriations for 107 countries and 16 multinational programs to respond to the pandemic through tests, therapies and essential medical supplies, the protection of healthcare workers on the front line, the adaptation of life-saving programs against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, and the strengthening of fragile health systems.

Against HIV a shot every two months

Tina Simoniello


But to defeat Covid-19 and protect the hard-won gains in the fight against HIV, TB and malaria, we need to do more. The direct and indirect impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of deaths is already shocking as well, and the longer it continues, the deeper the scars left on health, the economy and society. The Global Fund was created 20 years ago to step up the fight against the three infectious diseases that killed most people at the time. By working in partnership, we have shown that they could be resisted and 44 million lives could be saved. Now we need to step up our efforts once again: to end the pandemic, get back on track in the fight against HIV, TB and malaria, and build resilient health systems that protect everyone, everywhere, from future pathogens.

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Long Form

Covid. Will he return: are we ready for the next epidemic?

by Giuliano Aluffi


At the moment, Covid-19 poses a difficult challenge. But if we have the political will, we are committed to providing more resources, and we continue to innovate and collaborate, we can stem this virus, as we have done with HIV, TB and malaria, and ultimately defeat it. We must take this opportunity to protect everyone from the deadliest infectious diseases, whether it be Covid-19, previous HIV, TB and malaria pandemics, or the threats of future pandemics. We must not only aim to defeat this pandemic, but we must use it as a stimulus to build a better, fairer and healthier world.

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