Peter Sands, Executive Director of Global Fund Spoke at PKU Global Health and Development Forum 2021:
Health for all and thank professor Lucy Chen for her hard work in developing this forum. I would like to also acknowledge the efforts of those Chinese companies who have jointly explored digital solutions together with the Global Fund in the context of COVID-19. As an international organization created to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, the Global Fund mobilizes and invests more than 4 billion dollars a year to support programs run by local experts in more than 120 countries.
In partnership with governments, civil society, technical agencies, the private sector and the people affected by the diseases, we are challenging barriers and embracing innovation to fight these diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on our economies, health and society. It’s threatening to destroy decades of progress in the fight against poverty, inequality and deadly diseases like HIV, TB and malaria. Since early last year, the global Fund has responded swiftly to the pandemic and through our COVID-19 response mechanism, known as C19RM, we have provided low and middle income countries with critical tests, treatments and medical supplies, adapted life-saving HIV, TB and malaria programs, and reinforced fragile systems for health.
In 2020, we mobilized and deployed a billion dollars through C19RM, and this year, we are deploying at least 3.7 billion dollars. The Global Fund is a founding partner of the ACT Accelerator, the global collaboration to ensure the accelerated launch and equitable deployment of tools to fight COVID-19 in which China is one of the market shapers. The Global Fund plays an essential role in the partnership, co-leading the diagnostics pillar as well as the health systems connector and the supply of the work stream of a therapeutics pillar.
The pandemic has underscored the need for a digital revolution in healthcare delivery and shown how fundamental it is. Real-time data is crucial to managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries that were already behind in health information systems and data management have been flying blind. We need a massive and rampant change in how we manage health information and data aggregation.
The Global Fund recognizes the critical role that data and digital health can play in the fight against diseases. Last year, we announced a number of high level partnership with technology companies including Microsoft, Master Card, Google and others. We are, together with partners, developing a digital health platform to support African countries in their efforts to accelerate and transform their digital capabilities.
We aim to develop and provide best in class solutions, access to co-financing and collective expertise and knowledge. We know countries need more funds to build their digital capabilities but also better solutions, more technical support and paths of building to spend that money well. We have already seen how our partners like Microsoft and Master Card support Rwanda to develop standards for data integration, a key building block for digital health transformation in the country. We have also seen AI and machine learning techniques applied against TB, malaria and COVID-19 to provide rapid and comprehensive data analytics to decision makers. All of this is enormously promising and gives a signal of the potential impact.
The Global Fund is committed to building a strategic and forward looking partnership with China. It’s high time for the Global Fund to join hands with the private sector in China to address the challenge of major infectious diseases, strengthen the health system across developing countries and reinforce global health security. We know, of course, the deep and broad technology and expertise that exist in China and greater participation of Chinese companies in these areas of common interest will make a big difference. Thank you and I look forward to working with you all.
