Hope in hard times: Working together can still deliver for global health

It’s felt difficult to find good news on global health recently. The U.S. government dismantled much of its global assistance infrastructure earlier this year. Other governments have slashed foreign aid budgets. But our advocacy has had tremendous lifesaving impact. Two new reports just showed us there’s reason to celebrate–and to keep fighting.

RESULTS has played a vital role in increasing U.S. support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Their latest results show what our collective action has helped to achieve. Many groups come together to make these international partnerships work. They include directly affected communities, donors, health workers, advocates, and more. These efforts bring together the power of all of us. 

The Global Fund’s newest results report describes 70 million lives saved by supported programs. In 2024, it helped provide HIV treatment for 25.6 million people. 7.4 million people received treatment for tuberculosis. 162 million mosquito nets went out to protect families from malaria.

Each of these numbers represents fewer parents losing children. It means more communities healing and staying healthy. U.S. leadership multiplies the Global Fund’s impact. Every $1 the U.S. invests is matched two-to-one by other donors. That leverage makes the Global Fund one of the highest-impact health investments in the world. And why RESULTS has championed the Global Fund since its inception. 

Gavi helps transform children’s futures by making vaccines accessible. This partnership reaches even the world’s most remote or marginalized communities. Since 2000, it has helped vaccinate more than 1.2 billion children. Gavi has helped prevent 20.6 million future deaths.

In the past year, Gavi supported the rollout of 2 innovative, new malaria vaccines. 10.5 million doses went out across 17 African countries through routine immunization programs.

RESULTS has played a key role in increasing U.S. commitments to Gavi from $48 million in 2001 to $300 million in 2024. Gavi proves how pooled financing and innovative partnerships can deliver. Programs supported by Gavi achieve scale and results that no single country could.

The impressive results from the Global Fund and Gavi are proof that global solidarity works. It is possible to generate political will and turn it into lifesaving support.

Both the Global Fund and Gavi are pooled funds that don’t depend solely on one partner or government alone. But as the wealthiest nation in the world, U.S. support plays an outsize role. Withdrawing support is a death sentence for millions of people. 

As U.S. foreign aid faces decimation, these partnerships remain trusted and ready-to-act. They are capable of deploying funds and resources quickly where they’re needed most. But without sustained U.S. engagement, progress and global co-investment are at risk. We cannot afford to lose the hard-won gains described in these reports.

The question before Congress is not whether these partnerships work—they do. It’s whether the U.S. will continue to lead.

Our voices make that leadership possible. Grassroots advocates like us help lawmakers see the human stories behind every statistic.

These results prove that advocacy works and that solidarity saves lives. Let’s carry these victories forward. We can share these results in our communities and with our members of Congress. Because when we speak up together, change happens.

Defending these programs isn’t just about a budget line. It’s about standing up for a world where preventable disease doesn’t steal lives or futures. That’s something worth fighting for.