September 22, 2021
On September 22, the White House hosted a virtual global COVID Summit as a part of the 76th U.N. General Assembly. Friends’ President and CEO Chris Collins attended the summit and shared a powerful message with leaders in world governments, civil society and the private sector. Watch the video below:
Read the full statement below:
Hello, my name is Chris Collins and I am President and CEO of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Thank you to President Biden for sponsoring this summit and proposing bold targets for the global effort against COVID-19.
Today we are on course to fail in the global COVID-19 response, leading to needless suffering and death, greater inequity and an ongoing pandemic.
The world must take action to turn that around. We strongly endorse the summit targets including accelerated delivery of COVID-19 vaccines as part of a comprehensive effort including access to PPE, testing and treatment and bolstering of community health systems.
In addition, it is imperative we make commitments for a global pandemic preparedness and response system that is funded at least at the $10 billion annual level suggested by the G20 high level panel.
There is no genuine health security until we also end the pandemics of AIDS, TB and malaria. And as we’ve seen with COVID-19, investments in these diseases bolster national responses to new threats.
We need pandemic preparedness that is centered on strengthening health systems able to meet people’s needs today and flexible enough to identify, prevent and respond to emerging disease threats.
We need pandemic preparedness that emphasizes equity, that delivers services without discrimination and that involves communities in decision making.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria must be at the center of pandemic preparedness and response. It was founded to tackle the biggest pandemics in the world. It has delivered incredible results over two decades and has acted swiftly to respond to COVID-19. The Global Fund exemplifies implementing country leadership and multi-stakeholder engagement.
Friends of the Global Fight is committed to working with all of you to end the COVID-19 pandemic and establish pandemic preparedness that advances equity, global solidarity, and everyone’s security around the world.