The Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and Malaria, which has raised nearly $20bn since its creation in 2002, must focus more on preventing the spread of the diseases and get better value for the aid dollars it spends, a new study has found.

The first detailed independent evaluation of the fund, which pools government donations to battle three infectious diseases that kill the most people, concludes it has made “extraordinary” progress during its first five years. The fund is the largest multilateral agency pooling money to fight the three fatal diseases on a global level.