Work together to fight AIDS, TB, malaria

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called upon the international community to work together to prevent three of the world's most devastating diseases -- AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

“I firmly believe that AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are preventable and treatable. It needs commitment, determination and solidarity... let's make a pledge to work together towards that end,” she said.

The PM was addressing the opening session of the 5th Global Fund Replenishment Conference at Hyatt Regency Montreal on Friday.

She sought Global Fund support to her government's strides to ensure health security for all in Bangladesh.

The Global Fund is the world's main funding body for activities related to the prevention and treatment of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It supports programmes all over the world, with a focus on those areas where the burden of disease is greatest.

Pointing out that health security is a crucial aspect of development, Hasina said access to health care is critically important for our society.

“Health security depends on poverty alleviation, food security and even climate change management... development of an equitable, affordable and sustainable health system for all remains a challenge,” she added.

The prime minister said the world today stands at a critical point of its development aspiration.

“In 2015, we adopted a landmark agenda for sustainable development with a vision to create a poverty-free healthy global society.”

She said Bangladesh stands out in terms of achieving MDGs, including health-related targets.

“The maternal mortality ratio has declined by 70 percent in the last two decades, while we have reduced the under-five mortality rate by 66 percent and the infant mortality rate by 62 percent in the last one and a half decades,” the PM said.

Bangladesh is moving towards elimination of malaria by 2020 and has been maintaining a low prevalence rate in HIV/AIDS for the last two decades, added Hasina.

About her government's pledge to women's empowerment, she said her government has first placed utmost importance on women's education -- the most powerful tool for empowering women.

“We have made education free for girls up to 12th class and introduced various types of stipends for them.... This has not only resulted in significant improvement in school retention rates of girls, but also reduced underage marriage, maternal and child mortality,” she said.

Violence is seriously impacting physical and mental health of women, said the PM. “We have been maintaining a 'zero tolerance' towards all sorts of violence and discrimination against women.”

Hasina said her government set up more than 16,000 community clinics and union health centres to deliver quality health services in order to serve poor and marginalised people.

The premier said Bangladesh recognises the significant contributions of international partners, including the Global Fund, in strengthening the country's health sector.

The Global Fund has supported implementation of a number of projects in Bangladesh that eventually enhanced quality of lives affected by malaria, TB and HIV, she stated.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Togo President Faure Gnassingbe and Executive Director of the Global Fund Mark R Dybul also spoke at the opening session, moderated by Canadian Minister of International Development and La Francophonie Marie-Claude Bibeau.

Canada is hosting the Fifth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund to raise funds and support the Global Fund in ending these devastating epidemics by 2030. The conference would seek to mobilise $13 billion for the period of 2017-2019.

Heads of state and government, ministers of health and finance, as well as representatives from the private sector, academia, and civil society are taking part in the conference.

The Global Fund partnership has saved over 17 million lives and is supporting more than 1,000 programmes in over 100 countries where the burden of disease is the greatest.

The replenishment conference is held once in every three years. US President Barack Obama had hosted the previous conference in Washington in December 2013.