Celebrating 20 years of ACTION for a healthier world
Twenty years ago, Nelson Mandela sparked an idea that dramatically expanded our global impact. At the 2004 International AIDS Conference, he called for the world to prioritize tuberculosis (TB) in the fight to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. TB killed 1.6 billion people that year and was — and still is — the leading cause of death of people with AIDS.
Joanne Carter, RESULTS’ executive director, was in the audience that day. So were leaders from advocacy groups in France and India. The three decided to join forces in what became the ACTION Global Health Advocacy Partnership. The goal was “to ensure that diseases of poverty, like TB, receive the attention and resources they deserve from governments and global health institutions,” said Dr. Bobby John, who heads Æquitas Consulting in India.
The ACTION Partnership launched that year with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The next year, the three Partners helped to mobilize $288 million from the governments of France, India, and the U.S. for TB prevention and treatment.
Twenty years on, ACTION now has 14 Partners across five continents. As the number of ACTION member organizations grew, so did our ambitions.
“ACTION saw an opportunity to apply its expertise and experience to other issues such as immunization, early childhood development, and nutrition,” said Carter. “By addressing these interconnected health challenges, the partnership could continue supporting those most affected by poverty, ensuring that health issues were not seen in isolation but as part of a broader equity and development framework.”
The results are a testament to the power of collective action
Over the past two decades, ACTION Partners have helped to mobilize government pledges totaling more than $130.21 billion. The funds have been used for TB, AIDS, malaria, polio, malnutrition, COVID-19, and more.
Together, we have held governments accountable to their commitments and helped shape government policies. And we have raised the voices of affected communities on the global stage.
Key to ACTION’s model is that Partners come from both the wealthy countries that donate to global health programs and from countries that are putting those programs into action. For example, RESULTS advocates inspire members of Congress to support TB and other global health efforts by sharing the work and expertise of our Partners in countries with high levels of the disease, like India and Tanzania. When we are talking to the U.S. Congress about TB, our Partners are doing the same with their parliaments across five continents. When we’re asking for a pledge to a body like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, our Partners are asking the same. We’re working together as advocates to get our governments to work together for the health of the world.
Billions of dollars raised equals millions of lives saved
ACTION’s advocacy is also inventive and bold. We’ve collaborated on pushing the World Bank to better use its resources to reduce global poverty. We played an instrumental role in creating and shaping global health institutions like the Global Fund; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. And we have helped to mobilize billions for these and other efforts, including:
- $60.4 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
- $38.5 billion for Nutrition for Growth, a global pledging moment to end malnutrition
- $14.6 billion for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which supports the immunization of almost half the world’s children
- $1.08 billion for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative
Most recently, in 2024, RESULTS played a key role in securing a U.S. pledge of at least $1.58 billion for Gavi over the next five years. The support would help Gavi save the lives of more than 8 million children over that period. Our ACTION Partners in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia helped influence this decision by showcasing the lifesaving power of vaccines. Partners in countries like Italy, Canada, and Australia are highlighting the U.S. commitment to inspire their own countries to pledge their support.
All those dollar signs represent millions and millions of lives saved. Carol Nawina Nyirenda, who leads our ACTION partner in Zambia, is one. “My two children had a chance to live their life with their mother and now I get to see my grandchild,” she told RESULTS volunteers on a national webinar. “When I was diagnosed with TB and living with HIV, my daughter, who is going to have a baby girl, was 9 years old. Because of the work that you do, the fact that you go and speak with your members of Congress to ensure that the Global Fund is fully funded, that work cascades to us in the community.”
RESULTS proved that a small group of individuals who raise their voices strategically can become a global force for change. Our collaboration with ACTION shows that when groups join forces around the world, the impact can be transformative.