On Monday “in Brussels, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced an appeal to government and private sector donors for $15 billion for the next three years,” Joyce Banda, president of the Republic of Malawi, writes in the Huffington Post’s “The Big Push” blog. “While this appeal represents a substantial financial commitment during these times of economic austerity, it is a historical opportunity,” she states, adding, “A collective $15 billion commitment to the Global Fund would account for 85 percent of the international funding needed to capitalize on the progress we have made over the past decade and completely control these diseases once and for all. Just a decade ago no one could ever have imagined the finish line being so close.”

“The staggering progress we have made with the Global Fund and its partners has shown us what is possible for humankind when global solidarity, political will, modern science, and country ownership collide and save millions of lives,” Banda continues. “African countries are doing their utmost to provide human and financial resources for the health of their people,” but “we need strong support of the Global Fund to succeed,” she says, and concludes, “Today I stand proudly next to the Global Fund, its partners, and my fellow Africans with a promise: a $15 billion commitment to the Global Fund from the international community is an investment that will be quantified by changing the course of history together, and a leap forward towards ending the three pandemics” (4/9).