Global Laser Talk August 2016

Pitching the Idea of a Global Fund Replenishment Editorial to Your Local Paper

Engage the listener: On September 16, world leaders will meet in Montreal for the replenishment conference of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The goal is to raise $13 billion to defeat these three pandemics. No other single event will play a bigger role in changing the trajectory of tuberculosis than this replenishment.

State the Problem: The Global Fund provides about eighty percent of all external funding for fighting TB. Since 2000, TB deaths have declined 29 percent in countries partnering with the Global Fund. But if we don’t act, we risk squandering all the progress made over the past 15 years. 

Illustrate the solution: When the world gathers in September, the U.S. can do its part by pledging to contribute a full one-third of the Global Fund’s resources, as it has done in the past. This is a chance for President Obama to secure his legacy on global health and show the world that the U.S. is committed to stopping TB, HIV, and malaria in their tracks.

Call to action: Would you be willing to write an editorial on this historic funding conference for our local readers? I have a comprehensive editorial packet that I can forward you and would happily answer any questions.