Canada’s hosting of the Global Fund Fifth Replenishment Conference in Montreal this weekend marks a significant uptick in country’s role in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been personally engaged with planning the conference — part of a broader push to elevate Canada’s leadership role in international development.
“This is the first time that a head of state has really championed the Global Fund in its replenishment process to the degree that the government certainly has, and the Trudeau government in particular,” said Robin Montgomery, executive director of the Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development, a group of about 100 Canadian organizations working to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Canada’s renewed leadership will focus on reaching vulnerable populations. In addition to refilling the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s coffers with a requested $13 billion for 2017 to 2019, Canada will prioritize discussions about how to best reach women and girls, indigenous people, and LGBTQ populations.