Friends of the Global Fight (Friends) and GBCHealth will be hosting a webinar for Hill Staffers and other interested stakeholders in mid-October to showcase how private sector innovations in prevention, diagnostics, treatment and delivery are shaping the response to HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria across the globe, supporting the fight to end the three epidemics and contributing to the achievement of SDG 3 (Good Health & Wellbeing). The event will also touch on the impact of COVID-19 on the three diseases, and why the global health community must continue to remain committed to innovation.

Private sector innovation has been key to the Global Fund’s success in saving 38 million lives since 2002, and the Fund continues to work with private sector partners to scale innovative technologies in prevention, diagnostics and treatment for HIV, TB and malaria. This online discussion provides an opportunity to highlight some of the private sector’s investments in innovation and how these advances support the fight to end the three epidemics of HIV, TB and Malaria. It builds on GBCHealth and Friends’ joint advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill over the past year, and an innovation side event during the Sixth Global Fund Replenishment Conference in Lyon, France in October 2019.

This webinar comes on the heels of the release of a new Global Fund report which documents that much of that progress in the fight against the three diseases could now be in peril due to the knock-on effects of COVID-19, and how private sector innovation can help address some of these challenges. Speakers will discuss the importance of maintaining commitment to innovation for the three diseases, while addressing some of the challenges resulting from COVID-19.

Friends and GBCHealth are non-profit organizations that support the work of the Global Fund through advocacy and governance capacities, respectively. Friends of the Global Fight advocates for ending the three epidemics through U.S. investment in the Global Fund and other global health programs, while GBCHealth serves as the Focal Point to the Private Sector Constituency (PSC) on the Global Fund Board.

In July, Friends co-authored a letter to U.S. Congress leadership calling for a substantial commitment to address global aspects of the pandemic in the next emergency supplemental appropriations bill. Friends also recently hosted an interview with Dr. Anthony S. Fauci on the impact of COVID-19 on AIDS, TB and malaria.

The PSC is a group of companies that brings the business voice to the Global Fund and helps shape the strategy of the leading funding agency in global health. The PSC recently hosted a related webinar, in partnership with GBCHealth and the Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa (CAMA), on how the private sector is Reimagining Commitment to Fighting HIV, TB and Malaria During COVID-19.

For more information on the event, follow GBCHealth and Friends of the Global Fight on Twitter and make sure you are signed up for the GBCHealth newsletter.