I would like to start by acknowledging the Ngunnawal people and I pay my respects to the elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people joining us here this morning as well. I'd like to also thank you, Negaya, and your team from Results International Australia for organising this wonderful event, as well as my colleagues from the Parliamentary Friends of Australian Tuberculosis, including the Honourable Members Kate Thwaites, Mary Aldred and Sophie Scamps, who kindly are co-hosting this morning. Thank you so much. And of course, welcome to all our distinguished guests here this morning. I see many members of Parliament here, which is a great testament to the fact that this is an issue that touches many people who represent our broad communities right across Australia here in this place.
Now, it's not often that we can start a morning with good news. Actually, it's very rare these days, isn't it? But I do have a good news story to brighten up your morning and accompany your coffee and breakfast. So, here's the story. Around 20 years ago, our close friend and neighbour, Timor-Leste, was in the unenviable position of having one of the highest malaria burdens in the Indo-Pacific. In 2006 alone, Timor-Leste saw over 220,000 new malaria infections. Now, on its own, that's a significant number, but even more significant when you consider the country's population was just under 1 million people at the time. Now, what this meant was hundreds, hundreds of unavoidable death – sorry, avoidable deaths each year, as well as the burden of disease and lost productivity. And when faced with this challenge, the local health workers and communities did not give up. What they did was this; Timor Leste worked with Australia, worked with the Global Fund, the World Health Organisation, non-government organisations and other donors to expand access to testing, treatment and treated mosquito nets right across the country. No malaria-related deaths have been reported since 2015, not a single one. And just last month in July, the World Health Organisation certified Timor-Leste as malaria-free. What a great day.
Monumental accomplishment, one that saved countless lives, families and communities, but also a demonstration of the possible. A demonstration of the possible. What it shows us is that the elimination of this sort of disease is possible. It's not a pipe dream and it's not an unattainable goal, but it is a choice. It is a choice. It's a choice to invest in treatment and prevention and to build stronger and more inclusive health systems. It's a choice to partner for change and impact. Every person. Every single person has the right to live a long life free from disease and illness, whether they're in Canberra or Colombo or Perth or Port Moresby. But what it takes is partnerships to take on the fight and finish the fight against communicable diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
Now, against the backdrop, the current backdrop that we have of global uncertainty, with several countries tightening their donor budgets and withdrawing funding, Australia is making a choice. And our choice, the choice that we have taken, is to be an unwavering partner against disease and illness. Last year, Australia invested $690 million in development assistance towards supporting resilient, equitable and inclusive health systems. Now we deliver our health programs through a range of partners, including many of whom are here this morning, and it's great to see you. And I want to take also a moment to thank all of our partners and commend all of you for the amazing work that you do. The peace, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific is underpinned by the health of our region. And that's why Australia is committed to supporting the work of Global Fund to fight aids, tuberculosis and malaria.
And I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge somebody who has become my dear friend quite quickly. Lady Roslyn Morauta, the Chair of the Global Fund Board who has joined us this morning. Thank you for joining us, Lady Ros. Now, the work of the Global Fund over the past two decades has saved, get this, 26.5 million lives in our region and more than 65 million globally. That's pretty phenomenal and I think that deserves a round of applause.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Global Fund and its partners, the global death rate from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria has been reduced by over 60 per cent since 2002. The achievements of the Global Fund are nothing short of remarkable. So, more good news today. Not often you get two bouts of good stories, right. So, today I'm really delighted to announce Australia's next contribution to the Global Fund. Australia pledges funding of $266 million over the next three years, starting from 2026 for the Global Fund's eighth replenishment cycle. Congratulations.
Now, what this pledge will do is it will bring Australia's total support to the Global Fund to over $1.6 billion since its inception in 2002. And at a time of unprecedented demands on donor budgets, our pledge recognises that tackling global health challenges require sustained commitment. We cannot waiver. There is so much more work for the Global Fund Partnership to do, and Australia remains a steadfast supporter of these efforts. Such as efforts to reverse the trajectory of HIV in our region. Our region accounts for nearly one quarter of the world's new HIV infections. HIV infections are increasingly rapidly in the Pacific, with PNG seeing the equivalent of 30 new infections every single day and Fiji seeing four new infections every day. Our region also carries over 60 per cent of the global burden for tuberculosis with cases concentrated in India, Indonesia, China and the Philippines. Nearly a quarter of a million new tuberculosis cases across the Indo-Pacific are drug-resistant.
And while we can celebrate the incredible win against malaria in Timor-Leste, we see cases increasing elsewhere in Myanmar, in Vanuatu and in the Philippines. Without intervention, these diseases will continue to have long term impacts on the countries in our region, to their economies, to their security, to their health systems, to their communities and to their people.
Australia's support to the Global Fund complements our other lines of effort tackling communicable diseases in our region. For example, our contribution to the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development to accelerate efforts to shorten and simplify treatment for tuberculosis, particularly for multidrug-resistant variant tuberculosis. Or our partnership with the International Vector Control Consortium to develop state of the art dual active ingredient malaria nets which will become a powerful tool to address growing resistance to insecticides. And our work in PNG to improve access to sexual and reproductive health services which ensures over 5,000 people living with HIV have access to essential antiretroviral treatment.
This is the choice Australia is making to protect the progress that we've made. To invest for a healthier and more secure Indo-Pacific region. To save lives. And to win the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Thank you.