International Frontline Advocates in Ottawa to Rally Support for Critical Programming on Health and Human Rights
This statement can be attributed to the HIV Legal Network
October 20, 2025 – OTTAWA/TORONTO – Tomorrow — one month from the day that the Eighth Replenishment event for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) will take place in South Africa — Canadian civil society organizations will join colleagues from Ukraine and Côte d’Ivoire on Parliament Hill. Together, they will call on Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Government of Canada to demonstrate continued leadership in global health and human rights with an urgent and time-sensitive pledge of CAD457 million per year (CAD1.37 billion over three years).
Since 2002, Global Fund initiatives have saved 70 million lives in countries across low- and middle-income contexts. They have reduced death rates from these leading infectious diseases by 63%, but this progress is at risk as several key donor governments have significantly reduced their international assistance budgets. Canada now finds itself with not only a greater role and responsibility to help, but also the opportunity to showcase leadership in the multilateral and fundamentally interconnected pursuits of global health, human rights, security, and prosperity. As other countries step back, Canada must step forward.
The Global Fund currently provides 28% of all international financing for HIV programs, 76% of all international financing for tuberculosis (TB) programs, and 62% of all international financing for malaria programs. The Eighth Replenishment must raise at least USD18 billion to sustain and expand this work.
Tomorrow, advocates from Ukraine and Côte d’Ivoire will be in Ottawa to meet with government decision-makers and speak about the vital work of Global Fund initiatives in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
Amidst bombings and displacement, Ukrainian healthcare workers and mobile clinics are able to deliver life-saving HIV and TB care — including diagnosis and treatment — in frontline and remote areas. In Côte d’Ivoire, the Global Fund’s Breaking Down Barriers initiative has allowed for significant progress in reducing human rights barriers to accessing HIV and TB prevention and treatment services.
These Global Fund initiatives are working, demonstrating greater quality of service delivery, high cost effectiveness, and an impressive return on investment. That is why, earlier this month, more than 200 Canadian and international health and justice organizations signed an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney calling on Canada — which holds the current G7 presidency and is an alumni host of a Global Fund Replenishment — to lead by example with a CAD457 million yearly pledge.
We echo this call again today. The moment is now. Canada must not only make an ambitious pledge, but it must do so immediately to show its continued leadership and true commitment to global health justice and solidarity.
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Media Availability
Media are invited to interview:
- Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director, Alliance for Public Health, Ukraine
- Carlos Idibouo, LGBT2QI+ advocate, Côte d’Ivoire
- Mikhail Golichenko, HIV Legal Network, Canada
Backgrounder – Investing in Global Health Is A Human Rights Imperative – Now More Than Ever
Media Contact – Dylan DeMarsh – HIV Legal Network – d.dmarsh@hivlegalnetwork.ca