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Germany to host a Replenishment Conference |
Germany will host the Second Meeting of the Global Fund’s Second Voluntary Replenishment in Berlin, 26 – 28 September 2007. More than 50 delegations from donor countries, the private sector, civil society and UN partner organizations are expected. The meeting will commence with the launch of a new initiative that has the potential to bring in a substantial amount of resources for Global Fund-supported programs. The initiative, called “Debt2Health,” aims to demonstrate that debt relief can help fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Debt conversion is a mechanism whereby a creditor or a group of creditors agrees to cancel a portion of a country’s debt on the condition that the beneficiary invests an agreed-upon amount in a Global Fund-approved program. The German government made the first offer to forgo repayment of 50 million Euros on the condition that Indonesia invests the equivalent of 25 million Euros in health through approved Global Fund programs. Replenishment meeting participants will also discuss the scale up of gender sensitive responses in health programs as well as the evolving partnership between civil society and the Global Fund. Chancellor Angela Merkel will open the official portion of the meeting during which international donors will pledge their contributions to the Global Fund for the next three years. The meeting will be chaired by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and co-chaired by Sven Sandström, former Managing Director of the World Bank. The Global Fund’s total funding need for 2008-2010 is US$ 12-18 billion. This money will be used to support existing grants and also to fund new ones to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
| Voluntary Replenishment Mechanism | Second Replenishment 2008-2010 Oslo | Berlin |
The Global Fund’s Results and Impact |
The fight against HIV/AIDS and the strengthening of African health systems will be major topics of discussion at the 33rd G8 Summit to take place in Heiligendamm in June 2007. The G8 governments have played a crucial role in the development of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria since the Global Fund was established in 2002. The potential of the Fund to scale up its support for health care programs directly depends on the contributions committed by developed countries and the private sector community. In Germany, the Fund receives both financial and political support from the government and closely collaborates with Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The German Government has made the funding needs of the Global Fund one of the agenda items at the upcoming G8 Summit.
The Global Fund presents itself to Germany |
Beginning in May 2007 the Global Fund presented and discussed its work with a series of activities for stakeholders from the private sector, academia, civil society as well as the political arena in Germany. In cooperation with the German Development Minister, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, the Global Fund on May 10th hosted an exchange with high level representatives from the German private sector. On the political level the Global Fund was present in different Parliamentary debates such as the G8-Parliamentarians’ Conference on May 30/31, and a forum for 50 members of parliament and government representatives from G8 countries and EU member states as well as African countries. In two civil society events the relationship with the German civil society was strengthened. In the Workshop “Access to GF financing in Developing Countries,” 50 participants from German NGOs as well as the GTZ BACK UP team entered into a strategic discussion about the role of civil society and NGOs in strengthening capacity and demand. The Global Fund was able to reach a wider audience in Berlin through a public lecture and a public photography exhibition. In an effort to raise awareness about the progress being made in global fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, the Global Fund introduced a large-scale, outdoor, traveling photography exhibition in the streets of Berlin. The exhibition, “10 Minutes:20 Lives,” celebrates the work going on around the world that saves the lives of thousands of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria patients every day.
