This originally appeared on  DipNote.

I am in New York for the Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The United States is committed to the success of the Global Fund as part of our shared goal to save lives devastated by these diseases. Our investment is a central component of President Obama’s Global Health Initiative, along with our large bilateral programs such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the President’s Malaria Initiative, and U.S. programs focused on issues such as maternal and child health.

We strongly support the Global Fund’s collaborative, country-driven, performance-based approach, and we are proud to be its largest donor, having provided more than $5.1 billion to date. As President Obama said in his speech at the Millennium Development Goals Summit last month, we are strengthening our commitment to the Global Fund.

I was pleased to announce yesterday that the Obama Administration is making a three-year pledge of $4 billion to the Global Fund for 2011 through 2013. This marks the first time that the United States has made a multi-year pledge to the Global Fund.

What’s more, this pledge is a 38 percent increase in the U.S. investment over the preceding three years and is by far the largest dollar increase of any donor nation this year.

Why are we taking this step? It will save and improve lives of those devastated by these three diseases. It will increase life expectancies in affected countries.

Moreover, this pledge is linked to a firm call to action that calls upon the Fund to make needed reforms and for other donor nations to share in the responsibility of saving more lives effectively and efficiently.

Simply put, we have three goals with this historic pledge:

First, we need to drive needed reforms and ensure smart, effective investments that will build upon the success of the Fund and save more lives. At this conference, the U.S. has called upon the Global Fund Board to develop an action agenda that includes clear timelines and measures progress so all parties can be held accountable for clear action steps. You can read our “Call to Action” at www.PEPFAR.gov.

Second, we made this pledge to leverage other donors’ contributions. This commitment serves as a challenge to other donors — including other governments and the private sector — to do their share to save more lives, alleviate suffering and increase life expectancies. Meeting the need is a global responsibility. All donors have a shared responsibility to not only sufficiently invest in the Fund, but to ensure that its investments are achieving the ultimate goal of saving lives. Moreover, country grantees have an obligation to continue to improve their health systems to ensure that investments are made effectively and efficiently, and the U.S. will continue to support them in building the capacity to do so.

Finally, this pledge shows continued U.S. leadership to the ultimate measurement of success — increasing the number of lives saved. This pledge is part of a comprehensive approach to combating AIDS, TB, and malaria through President Obama’s Global Health Initiative. In addition to financing, as part of our effort to strengthen Global Fund grant performance and impact, the U.S. will increase our already substantial investment in technical assistance, capacity building, and country level coordination.

Any future increases in U.S. funding will be tied to fulfillment of the Global Fund’s action plan, as well as to the relative scale-up of contributions by other donors to the Fund. In short, all stakeholders must come together to build upon the past success achieved by the Fund.

Ultimately, this pledge will allow the Global Fund to do its job — and do it better. We are proud of our relationship with and commitment to the Fund and the work it has done over the years. This unprecedented pledge is a signal to the world that even in these difficult times, the U.S. is firmly committed to fighting these devastating diseases and ultimately saving more lives.