Former Prime Minister Erna Solberg (Conservative Party) has been appointed the new Chair of the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

She will lead the Fund until 2029, the Government reports.

“I am very pleased to be asked to take on this role alongside serving as a Member of the Storting. Global health has been an important issue throughout my political career,” Solberg told Dagens Næringsliv.

The Global Fund provides more than USD 4 billion annually in grants to approximately 100 countries most severely affected by the three diseases. Norway’s contribution amounts to NOK 2 billion for the period 2026 to 2028.

Solberg emphasises that the task is demanding in the current geopolitical climate.

“Although the world has made progress, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria remain major health problems worldwide. In the current situation, with a more difficult path to financing and a more turbulent world, it becomes even more important that we use the funds in the best possible way in order to save the greatest number of lives,” she says.

Minister of International Development Åsmund Aukrust (Labour Party) congratulates Solberg and highlights her experience as Prime Minister during the coronavirus pandemic as particularly relevant.

“It is particularly important to have leaders who stand up for international cooperation at a time when it is under pressure,” says Aukrust.

Solberg served as Prime Minister from 2013 to 2021 and as leader of the Conservative Party (Høyre) from 2004 until February this year, when Ine Eriksen Søreide took over.

She has been a member of the Storting since 1989.