The British union flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain December 30, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain on Tuesday pledged 850 million pounds ($1.14 billion) to an international initiative to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, in what amounted to a cut of 15% from the previous commitment as the nation struggles with a tighter budget.
Britain, historically a major donor to the Geneva-based Global Fund, has, like other major nations, been paring back its aid budget to fund increased defence spending.
But it said its 2026-2028 contribution would help save up to 1.3 million lives globally from the three diseases, and avert up to 22 million new cases or infections, adding that in dollar terms it was "only 5% less than the amount we invested" in the previous funding round.
According to Reuters calculations, the pledge reflects a 15% cut from the 1 billion pounds Britain had committed for the 2023-25 period, which had already been a third lower than what it had contributed during the previous funding round in 2019.
($1 = 0.7451 pounds)
(Reporting by Muvija M and Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)
