The battle against deadly infectious diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria is facing new threats from climate change and global conflicts, according to the Global Fund, a Geneva-based organization focused on eradicating these illnesses. In its latest report, the fund warned that while the world has largely rebounded from the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing crises such as environmental changes, wars, and political instability are jeopardizing hard-won progress.
The Global Fund noted that these factors, along with the erosion of human rights, attacks on gender equality, antimicrobial resistance, and worsening economic conditions, disproportionately impact the poorest and most marginalized populations. These vulnerable groups are now at greater risk of contracting infectious diseases, compounding the challenges in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
In 2023, the Global Fund allocated over $5 billion to combat these three diseases, which claim hundreds of thousands of lives and afflict millions more each year. Despite significant progress, especially with the introduction of malaria vaccines, malaria remains the most susceptible to climate-related disruptions among the three diseases.
Rising global temperatures and extreme weather events, such as flooding, have created favorable conditions for the spread of mosquitoes—the primary carriers of malaria—into regions that were previously too cold or dry. In 2023, the Global Fund distributed 227 million mosquito nets and treated 171 million malaria cases, but these efforts are being undermined by the expanding habitats of mosquitoes due to climate change. According to the World Health Organization, malaria kills more than 600,000 people annually, with 95% of those deaths occurring in Africa. Alarmingly, nearly 80% of the victims in Africa are children under the age of five.
Compounding the problem, ongoing conflicts in malaria-endemic regions are further hampering efforts to control the disease. Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund, pointed out that war zones are particularly challenging for health interventions. The combination of violence, displacement, and disruption to healthcare services makes it difficult to deliver treatments and preventive measures, like insecticide-treated nets. Additionally, resistance to certain insecticides and malaria treatments is increasing, while funding per person to combat the disease is declining.
Sands emphasized that climate change is not only affecting malaria but poses a growing threat to all three diseases targeted by the Global Fund. He highlighted that migrants displaced by climate change are especially vulnerable to tuberculosis, a disease that thrives in crowded, impoverished conditions.
The Global Fund also expressed concern about how widespread conflicts, stretching from Sudan to Ukraine and from the Middle East to the Sahel, are severely impacting healthcare systems. These wars have had devastating consequences for the most vulnerable communities, hindering efforts to provide essential healthcare and prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
As the world grapples with these overlapping crises, the Global Fund remains committed to its mission but acknowledges that the road ahead is becoming increasingly difficult. Without intensified global cooperation and investment, the progress made in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria could be undone by the growing threats posed by climate change and conflict.