A pledge of a further contribution of €7.1 million by the State to the global fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria will be made at an international donors conference today.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Tom Kitt, said the pledge would bring the total amount contributed by the Government to €20 million since the global fund was founded 18 months ago.
The State had been one of the strongest advocates and supporters of the fund since its inception, he said.
It was one of only a small number of countries to have fully honoured its initial pledge of support.
Mr Kitt said the fund was an extremely important instrument which had the potential to have a profound impact on global efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
"I want Ireland to lead by example, allocating a very significant level of resources to the global fund and encouraging others to do likewise.
"HIV/AIDS is a critical development challenge, the greatest which we face in today's world, and the global fund is a key mechanism for responding to it," Mr Kitt said.
The fight against HIV/AIDS would be a priority within Ireland's development co-operation programme, the Minister said. The crisis was becoming more urgent by the day and the international community must mobilise the resources to respond to it.
The international donors conference is being held in Paris today.
Since its establishment, the fund has approved $1.5 billion in support programmes in developing countries.
At present more than 42 million people have contracted the HIV/AIDS virus, more than 70 per cent of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa.