Gates CEO Mark Suzman Is ‘Very Concerned’ About a Health Funding Deadline
Welcome to the first episode of The Threshold, a Foreign Policy podcast about the fight to end infectious diseases around the world and the innovations that could get us there. Host Henry Bonsu speaks with Gates CEO Mark Suzman and WACI Health Executive Director Rosemary Mburu about why they’re both optimistic and concerned about the future of disease elimination. And there is a big deadline on their minds that directly impacts the state of global health—which is in a tough place.
More than two million people die every year from the world’s biggest infectious diseases: HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. TB alone claimed more than 1.25 million lives in 2023, overtaking COVID as the world’s deadliest infectious disease.
On the surface, the fight to end these epidemics is harder now than it’s ever been. Aid for global health dropped more than 20 percent this year, driven in large part by cuts to USAID and British government programs.
But for the first time in decades, science is much closer to ending these diseases. Recent advances—including an HIV prevention shot, TB vaccine candidates, and innovative tools to end malaria—could significantly reduce their prevalence.
Over the next seven episodes, we’ll explore how new scientific breakthroughs are making a huge difference in the fight against epidemics like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. But also, we’ll tackle how we can approach global health funding at this geopolitically fraught moment.
At a live panel discussion recorded at Foreign Policy’s Health Forum, Suzman and Mburu explain why they believe we could eliminate HIV, TB, and malaria within our lifetimes. Plus, they discuss why they think the Global Fund’s replenishment round in November is critical. The Threshold is made possible in part through funding from the Gates Foundation. (Photo credit: Jonathan Heisler)
Guests and organizations:
Gates CEO Mark Suzman
WACI Health Executive Director Rosemary Mburu
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Coming Soon: The Threshold
Global health is facing a critical moment. New scientific breakthroughs are making a huge difference in the fight against epidemics like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. But funding is down and priorities are shifting. Will these diseases finally be eliminated? Or will they surge instead?
On The Threshold, reporters from around the world cover this unfolding crisis from all sides—talking to scientists, politicians, civil society leaders, pharmaceutical executives, and others. The Threshold is a new seven-part Foreign Policy podcast hosted by acclaimed broadcast journalist Henry Bonsu and made possible through funding in part from the Gates Foundation.
Global health is facing a tipping point. Scientific advancements have changed how we respond to epidemics like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria – and the pipeline of breakthrough innovations has never been stronger. But funding is down and priorities are shifting. Will the science come to scale so these diseases can finally be ended? Or will they surge instead?
On The Threshold, reporters from around the world cover this unfolding crisis from all sides—talking to scientists, politicians, civil society leaders, pharmaceutical executives, and others. The Threshold is a seven-part Foreign Policy podcast hosted by acclaimed broadcast journalist Henry Bonsu and made possible through funding in part from the Gates Foundation.
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