Gavi and the Global Fund

Tim Roca Excerpts

Thursday 15th May 2025 Westminster Hall

[Tim Roca (Macclesfield) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) for securing the debate. I want to speak in strong support of continued investment in these organisations, but particularly the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. As my hon. Friend said, it is one of the most impactful partnerships in global health history.

Since its founding in 2002, the Global Fund has saved more than 50 million lives. That is 50 million mothers, fathers and children who are alive today because of international collaboration, targeted investment and shared resolve. The death rate from AIDS, TB and malaria has been halved in the countries where the fund operates. That is a success that we should all be proud of. In an era when, as colleagues have mentioned, global co-operation seems to be going out of fashion, that is a living, breathing example of it working.

The UK has played a major role in that success but, as hon. Members have said, with the next replenishment fast approaching, we must reaffirm our commitment. The needs remain urgent and the case for investment remains overwhelmingly strong. I am proud that the fund has been a cross-party endeavour, but I want to acknowledge, as my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes Central did, the crucial role that Labour has played in establishing and supporting it. Under Tony Blair, the UK helped to found the fund in 2002, recognising that tackling the world’s deadliest diseases required global leadership. Under Gordon Brown’s leadership, both as Chancellor and, later, as Prime Minister, the UK strengthened its support, with a focus on long-term funding and international co-operation. That legacy of action, compassion and multilateralism is one we will all want to uphold.

Like colleagues, I want to speak about my constituency’s role in this issue. I am proud to represent Macclesfield, which people will know is a thriving town, with a brilliant grassroots arts and culture scene, nestled on the edge of the Peak district. But it is also a key centre for UK life sciences, with AstraZeneca, the major employer in the town, playing a vital role in the production and distribution of life-saving medicines. However, AstraZeneca’s contribution goes beyond local jobs, and it has supported the wider global health agenda, particularly through working on the covid vaccine and other initiatives to improve treatments in low and middle-income countries. We know that our life sciences sector across the country, anchored by companies such as AstraZeneca, benefits from the innovation, data sharing and global networks that initiatives such as the Global Fund foster. This is what is called win-win.

Let us not forget that the diseases we are talking about have not gone away. As has been pointed out, TB is one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. Malaria continues to kill a child nearly every minute. Although AIDS is more manageable, it still devastates millions of families. Our support is therefore as important as ever. I urge all Members, and especially the Government, to continue to recognise the fund’s enormous value. From the laboratories of Macclesfield to the clinics of Malawi, let’s continue to make a difference.

[Christine Jardine (in the Chair)]

Apologies, but I will have to reduce the time limit to two minutes.