Rt Hon David Mundell MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale and Co-Chair All Party Parliamentary Group HIV and AIDS.
Britain’s enduring friendship with the United States is the single most important – and successful – partnership we have, and possibly the most effective bilateral partnership in the world. The special relationship between our two countries helps to make the world a healthier, safer and more prosperous place.
This is not just lofty prose. Ensuring peace, upholding democracy, and protecting lives in challenging circumstances is self-evidently a positive thing in precarious times, as our shared support for Ukraine has demonstrated once again.
This is a relationship that is built upon a myriad of different ties such as our cultural and economic links, our shared history and values, our trading partnership, and our long-lasting military alliance.
But the collaboration of the United Kingdom and the United States has also been built upon our shared determination to tackle a broader set of global threats and challenges; in particular, to improve global health.
And not without reason. There is an inextricable link between health and security. Viruses threaten to kill significant numbers of people and significantly damage economies. This cannot be understated.
From AIDS, to Ebola, and most recently the Covid-19 pandemic, our partnership has made a major impact on global health, saving millions of lives and reaping huge economic and social returns.
Rishi Sunak understands the scale of these shared ambitions – and recognises that continuing to work with Joe Biden on these issues is a vital component of Britain’s partnership with the United States.
The extent of this understanding is clear as despite operating under difficult economic circumstances, the Government has reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to ending preventable disease. On Monday Andrew Mitchell, the Minister for Development, announced a pledge of £1 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, helping to save over 1.2 million lives.
This funding will go towards supporting our response for Ukraine, where the Global Fund mobilised additional $15 million in less than a week to ensure that people living with HIV and TB are still able to receive essential services.
Our investment in the Global Fund furthers our strategic ambitions and delivers on the four priorities outlined in the International Development Strategy. British scientists are at the forefront of developing new tools and treatments to tackle these diseases, and the Global Fund is one of the best routes to deliver these innovations, and cement our reputation as a scientific leader.
Most importantly, over one third of the funding will contribute to global health security and pandemic preparedness. The bold pledges made by Britain and our partners in the G7 demonstrate that we have learnt the lessons from Covid-19. Our successful collaboration will in turn increase the Global Fund’s ability to build stronger and more resilient health systems and ensure the world is better able to prevent, detect, and respond to future disease threats.
The UK’s pledge to the Global Fund is lower than what has been seen in previous replenishment cycles. Unprecedented costs resulting from the war in Ukraine have restricted the UK’s ability to match the ambition of international allies.
Exceptional pressures on FCDO budgets are forcing ministers into tight corners with difficult decisions. This is not sustainable; we need the capacity to combat overlapping crises overseas – crises that, if not tackled effectively, will harm us further in the long run.
Global health security is a precursor for ensuring our own prosperity agenda, and investing in health gives us long-term economic benefits. I remain optimistic that once domestic economic circumstances improve, the UK will once again be in a position to match the United States step-by-step on global health commitments.
It is critical that the Government continues to look to the future and does not lose sight of the international picture.
Rt Hon David Mundell MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale and Co-Chair All Party Parliamentary Group HIV and AIDS.
Britain’s enduring friendship with the United States is the single most important – and successful – partnership we have, and possibly the most effective bilateral partnership in the world. The special relationship between our two countries helps to make the world a healthier, safer and more prosperous place.
This is not just lofty prose. Ensuring peace, upholding democracy, and protecting lives in challenging circumstances is self-evidently a positive thing in precarious times, as our shared support for Ukraine has demonstrated once again.
This is a relationship that is built upon a myriad of different ties such as our cultural and economic links, our shared history and values, our trading partnership, and our long-lasting military alliance.
But the collaboration of the United Kingdom and the United States has also been built upon our shared determination to tackle a broader set of global threats and challenges; in particular, to improve global health.
And not without reason. There is an inextricable link between health and security. Viruses threaten to kill significant numbers of people and significantly damage economies. This cannot be understated.
From AIDS, to Ebola, and most recently the Covid-19 pandemic, our partnership has made a major impact on global health, saving millions of lives and reaping huge economic and social returns.
Rishi Sunak understands the scale of these shared ambitions – and recognises that continuing to work with Joe Biden on these issues is a vital component of Britain’s partnership with the United States.
The extent of this understanding is clear as despite operating under difficult economic circumstances, the Government has reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to ending preventable disease. On Monday Andrew Mitchell, the Minister for Development, announced a pledge of £1 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, helping to save over 1.2 million lives.
This funding will go towards supporting our response for Ukraine, where the Global Fund mobilised additional $15 million in less than a week to ensure that people living with HIV and TB are still able to receive essential services.
Our investment in the Global Fund furthers our strategic ambitions and delivers on the four priorities outlined in the International Development Strategy. British scientists are at the forefront of developing new tools and treatments to tackle these diseases, and the Global Fund is one of the best routes to deliver these innovations, and cement our reputation as a scientific leader.
Most importantly, over one third of the funding will contribute to global health security and pandemic preparedness. The bold pledges made by Britain and our partners in the G7 demonstrate that we have learnt the lessons from Covid-19. Our successful collaboration will in turn increase the Global Fund’s ability to build stronger and more resilient health systems and ensure the world is better able to prevent, detect, and respond to future disease threats.
The UK’s pledge to the Global Fund is lower than what has been seen in previous replenishment cycles. Unprecedented costs resulting from the war in Ukraine have restricted the UK’s ability to match the ambition of international allies.
Exceptional pressures on FCDO budgets are forcing ministers into tight corners with difficult decisions. This is not sustainable; we need the capacity to combat overlapping crises overseas – crises that, if not tackled effectively, will harm us further in the long run.
Global health security is a precursor for ensuring our own prosperity agenda, and investing in health gives us long-term economic benefits. I remain optimistic that once domestic economic circumstances improve, the UK will once again be in a position to match the United States step-by-step on global health commitments.
It is critical that the Government continues to look to the future and does not lose sight of the international picture.