24th October 2025 

Dear Prime Minister, 

We are writing to you as the Executive Committee of the UK Academics and Professionals Against TB (UKAPTB) network to urge the UK to make a significant and ambitious pledge to the upcoming Eighth Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in November. 

UKAPTB is a network of academics, researchers, students, nurses, and doctors working together to advocate for the prevention, treatment, and elimination of TB globally. Our members work in universities and hospitals throughout the UK; treating TB patients, developing innovative new drugs and diagnostic tools, sharing best practice and cutting-edge research, and leading the international community in the fight to eradicate TB. 

TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, with over 10 million cases and 1.4 million deaths each year, including 200,000 children. TB is both preventable and curable, yet each year millions of people suffer the pain and hardship of living with an active TB infection. The tools to end TB exist, but we do not have sufficient and sustained levels of financing to eradicate it. 

The Global Fund is one of the world’s most impactful multilateral global health organisations, having saved over 70 million lives since its founding in 2002. It drives progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 3.3.2, which aims to end the three epidemics by 2030, by investing in programmes led by local experts in more than 100 countries. In countries where the Global Fund invests, deaths from HIV, TB and malaria have fallen by half. Critically, the Global Fund provides 76% of all international TB financing, making it the backbone of the global TB response. The United Kingdom has long been a champion of global health and a founding partner of the Global Fund. British leadership has been instrumental in mobilising international support and showing that investing in stronger health systems overseas also strengthens health security at home. The COVID-19 pandemic powerfully underscored that infectious diseases anywhere, can endanger lives everywhere.

Yet, the progress made is at risk. Funding gaps, climate change, conflict, and strained health systems threaten to undo decades of advancement. The Global Fund urgently requires renewed investment to maintain and accelerate momentum toward ending these three epidemics as public health threats by 2030. Evidence from the Copenhagen Consensus Centre demonstrates that investment in tackling TB and malaria is among the top 12 best global investments for the world, with every £1 yielding £35 in health and economic benefits. 

The Eighth Replenishment Conference offers a pivotal opportunity to reverse this trend and reinvigorate the global fight against infectious diseases. As co-host, the UK has a unique opportunity to lead by example, galvanising international momentum and reaffirming its position as a global health leader. A strong and ambitious UK pledge will not only help meet the Global Fund’s target but will also encourage other donor nations to follow suit, securing the resources needed to save millions of lives. 

Thank you for considering this vital matter. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss the impact of the Global Fund, or the contributions of UKAPTB members in more detail. 

Tuberculosis is entirely preventable and curable. With strong, coordinated action - both here in the UK and across the globe - we can end this disease once and for all, saving millions of lives and building healthier, more resilient communities for the future. 

Yours sincerely, 

Dr Jessica Potter 

Chair, UK Academics & Professionals to End TB