Baroness Liz Sugg CBE is a Conservative peer.
Earlier this month, the FCDO published its International Development Strategy. This described a new approach, with four priorities – to deliver honest and reliable investment, to provide women and girls with the freedom they need to succeed, to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance, and to take forward work on climate change, nature and global health. The strategy also set out the government’s intention to rebalance its spending away from multilateral institutions – such as the World Bank – towards bilateral channels to bolster our diplomatic agenda and achieve our development aims.
I’m proud of the Conservative Party’s history of supporting developing nations to establish their own economic independence and social stability, and of our strong record on humanitarian assistance. We also have a long and proud history of tackling one of the world’s most deadly diseases – malaria. This long-standing support has contributed to significant progress on tackling this preventable and treatable disease – between 2000 and 2015 the death rate fell by 51%.
There are plenty of vaunted ambitions to end any number of diseases, but thanks to this progress and developments in science and technology, there is a realistic prospect to end malaria this generation – if there is the political will and investment to do it.
Over the years we have worked closely with our Commonwealth family and African partners to help tackle malaria. We have also made significant contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Through smart, effective health investments, the Global Fund has saved 44 million lives and provided prevention, treatment and care services to hundreds of millions of people.
But this progress on malaria is now at risk. The impact COVID-19 has had on health systems has compounded challenges faced by already stretched services. In 2020, 627,000 people died from malaria, the highest in nearly a decade. Malaria is one of the leading causes of child mortality – children under 5 accounted for around 80% of these deaths in Africa.
Later this year President Biden will host a replenishment conference for the Global Fund. Despite the move towards bilateral funding highlighted by the Strategy, I hope that our contribution to the Global Fund bucks this trend. There is a solid case for investing in the Fund –it is a highly efficient mechanism for fighting existing disease, but it also helps to keep us safe at home by strengthening health systems possibly preventing the next pandemic.
Unlike some other multilateral organisations, the Global Fund has clear, trackable results that show excellent value for money, and UK investment leverages in significant additional funding from the private sector and other donors giving a multiplier effect.
We saw the power of British-backed science during the pandemic, with innovative vaccines being brought to market in record speeds – meaning we could save lives and open up economies. The Strategy seeks to channel world class UK expertise in science and business towards development outcomes. In the last year, the UK celebrated the first malaria vaccine to be approved by the WHO, developed by a British company, GSK, and results from trials of another new vaccine made by the Jenner Institute at Oxford University are due soon. Vaccines are just one tool in the antimalaria arsenal, others include UK developed drugs and insect control– such as the new mosquito nets developed through a partnership including London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Strong investment in the Global Fund would help get these British innovations to the people who need them. In 2020, the Global Fund distributed 20 million of the new mosquito nets and funded the trials that led to the approval of the malaria vaccine.
The work of the Global Fund will help improve maternal health and end preventable child deaths. It will help achieve the Prime Minister’s ambition for 12 years of quality education for every girl by reducing missed school days. It will help women and girls fulfil their economic potential – as well as getting sick themselves, women and girls take the lion’s share of the responsibility for caring for family members. And it will boost economies – each 10% reduction in malaria incidence is associated with an average rise of 0.3% in GDP per capita.
Continued UK investment in the Global Fund is highly valued by our African partners. Malaria remains a significant public health and development challenge across the continent – last year around 95% of global cases occurred in Africa. Tackling malaria is a major focus for the Commonwealth leaders meeting in Rwanda in June.
So investment to end malaria is critical to protect our own health security, to bolster our global position in science and R&D, to give women and girls the freedom to succeed and deliver on our commitment to Africa. And this is not an open-ended need – for the first time, beating this disease is in sight.
The challenge of malaria is greater than ever, and the Global Fund has asked for a funding increase from all donors to meet the increased need. The UK has long been a generous contributor, but other donors must play their part and do more than before. But, with the possibility to end this disease in our lifetime, now is not the time for us to step back . I hope to see the UK contribute at least as much as at the last Global Fund replenishment.
The Foreign Secretary has set out her ambition to unleash the power of people and countries to take control of their own future. Our continued investment to end malaria will help to achieve this laudable goal
Baroness Liz Sugg CBE is a Conservative peer.
Earlier this month, the FCDO published its International Development Strategy. This described a new approach, with four priorities – to deliver honest and reliable investment, to provide women and girls with the freedom they need to succeed, to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance, and to take forward work on climate change, nature and global health. The strategy also set out the government’s intention to rebalance its spending away from multilateral institutions – such as the World Bank – towards bilateral channels to bolster our diplomatic agenda and achieve our development aims.
I’m proud of the Conservative Party’s history of supporting developing nations to establish their own economic independence and social stability, and of our strong record on humanitarian assistance. We also have a long and proud history of tackling one of the world’s most deadly diseases – malaria. This long-standing support has contributed to significant progress on tackling this preventable and treatable disease – between 2000 and 2015 the death rate fell by 51%.
There are plenty of vaunted ambitions to end any number of diseases, but thanks to this progress and developments in science and technology, there is a realistic prospect to end malaria this generation – if there is the political will and investment to do it.
Over the years we have worked closely with our Commonwealth family and African partners to help tackle malaria. We have also made significant contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Through smart, effective health investments, the Global Fund has saved 44 million lives and provided prevention, treatment and care services to hundreds of millions of people.
But this progress on malaria is now at risk. The impact COVID-19 has had on health systems has compounded challenges faced by already stretched services. In 2020, 627,000 people died from malaria, the highest in nearly a decade. Malaria is one of the leading causes of child mortality – children under 5 accounted for around 80% of these deaths in Africa.
Later this year President Biden will host a replenishment conference for the Global Fund. Despite the move towards bilateral funding highlighted by the Strategy, I hope that our contribution to the Global Fund bucks this trend. There is a solid case for investing in the Fund –it is a highly efficient mechanism for fighting existing disease, but it also helps to keep us safe at home by strengthening health systems possibly preventing the next pandemic.
Unlike some other multilateral organisations, the Global Fund has clear, trackable results that show excellent value for money, and UK investment leverages in significant additional funding from the private sector and other donors giving a multiplier effect.
We saw the power of British-backed science during the pandemic, with innovative vaccines being brought to market in record speeds – meaning we could save lives and open up economies. The Strategy seeks to channel world class UK expertise in science and business towards development outcomes. In the last year, the UK celebrated the first malaria vaccine to be approved by the WHO, developed by a British company, GSK, and results from trials of another new vaccine made by the Jenner Institute at Oxford University are due soon. Vaccines are just one tool in the antimalaria arsenal, others include UK developed drugs and insect control– such as the new mosquito nets developed through a partnership including London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Strong investment in the Global Fund would help get these British innovations to the people who need them. In 2020, the Global Fund distributed 20 million of the new mosquito nets and funded the trials that led to the approval of the malaria vaccine.
The work of the Global Fund will help improve maternal health and end preventable child deaths. It will help achieve the Prime Minister’s ambition for 12 years of quality education for every girl by reducing missed school days. It will help women and girls fulfil their economic potential – as well as getting sick themselves, women and girls take the lion’s share of the responsibility for caring for family members. And it will boost economies – each 10% reduction in malaria incidence is associated with an average rise of 0.3% in GDP per capita.
Continued UK investment in the Global Fund is highly valued by our African partners. Malaria remains a significant public health and development challenge across the continent – last year around 95% of global cases occurred in Africa. Tackling malaria is a major focus for the Commonwealth leaders meeting in Rwanda in June.
So investment to end malaria is critical to protect our own health security, to bolster our global position in science and R&D, to give women and girls the freedom to succeed and deliver on our commitment to Africa. And this is not an open-ended need – for the first time, beating this disease is in sight.
The challenge of malaria is greater than ever, and the Global Fund has asked for a funding increase from all donors to meet the increased need. The UK has long been a generous contributor, but other donors must play their part and do more than before. But, with the possibility to end this disease in our lifetime, now is not the time for us to step back . I hope to see the UK contribute at least as much as at the last Global Fund replenishment.
The Foreign Secretary has set out her ambition to unleash the power of people and countries to take control of their own future. Our continued investment to end malaria will help to achieve this laudable goal