Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

The government will not be supporting this motion, but I should point out that Minister Bishop and Parliamentary Secretary Mason today announced that Australia will commit $200 million over three years to support the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The national prevalence of HIV-AIDS in Australia is lower than in many comparable nations. However, it is estimated that around five million people in our region are living with HIV-AIDS. It is the leading cause of death globally for women and girls aged 15 to 44. Australia has spent $1 billion combatting HIV-AIDS in our region over the last decade. The global fund is the largest multilateral funder of health programs in developing countries. It invests around one-third of its funds, or around US$6.8 billion, in the Indo-Pacific region, where it has delivered HIV treatment to over 700,000 people, treated seven million cases of tuberculosis and distributed 51 million bed nets.

Question agreed to.