The changing funding landscape for infectious disease research and control: implications for resource-limited countries

We now live in an interconnected world where global health has become a critical concern for governments, international organizations, civil society, and individuals. Many emerging and re-emerging infectious disease threats, efforts to manage them, must be addressed collaboratively. In recent years, the pressures on overseas aid budgets of higher income countries like United Kingdom (UK) and United States (US) have impacted support for infectious disease research and control. As disease agents do not respect borders, promoting international health security should be the key focus of overseas aid, encompassing initiatives to combat infectious diseases like COVID-19, Ebola, mpox, malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The fight against infectious diseases can be achieved through direct partnerships with affected countries and via multilateral organisations like World Health Organization (WHO), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Africa CDC and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (Global Fund).