The spirit of the UN's Global Fund
should be rekindled after COVID, Premier Mario Draghi told the
organization that fights disease worldwide Friday.
"The pandemic has overwhelmed health systems, draining resources
from the activities of fighting these diseases," he told the
fund, which invests US$4 billion a year to defeat HIV, TB and
malaria and ensure a healthier, safer, equitable future for all.
"Last year, at least a million people did not receive treatment
against tuberculosis.
"The number of HIV tests dropped to a disconcerting 20%.
"Progress against malaria stopped.
"Now that the COVID-19 vaccination programmes are proceeding all
over the world, we must rekindle the spirit that led to the
creation of the Global Fund".
Draghi added that "the next refinancing of the Fund must be
generous and express real solidarity at a global level,"
recalling that Italy has given over 1.2 billion euros to it
since it was created in 2002.
"We want the next 20 years of the Global Fund to be even more
fruitful than the last 20 years".
Over the years, he said, the Fund had saved around 44 million
lives, equivalent to the population of Ukraine.
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