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Press Release |
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3 May 2006 |
Friends of the Fund Africa Launched
Abuja, Nigeria – Against the backdrop of the Special Summit of the African Union on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Friends of the Global Fund Africa was launched today in Abuja, joining Friends organizations in the U.S., Japan and Europe as nongovernmental advocates on behalf of the Global Fund.
The announcement was made at a press conference hosted by founding Board Members President Obasanjo of Nigeria; President Nguesso of the Democratic Republic of Congo, also serving as the Chairman of the African Union; Nigerian Minister of Finance Dr. Okonjo-Iweala; General Gowon, former president of Nigeria, and Mr. Odumegwu, Chairman of Nigerian Breweries PLC. Also in attendance were Professor Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund, and Friends of the Global Fund Africa advocate Dr. Akudo Anyanwu Ikemba.
Professor Feachem applauded the launch of the Pan-African initiative, saying
“The Global Fund benefits enormously by the work of Friends organizations, through their efforts to promote understanding and to mobilize regional support for the work of the Fund. Friends of the Global Fund Africa will no doubt be one of the strong voices communicating to donors the importance of financing to the future of so many Africans”.
Friends of the Global Fund Africa was founded in order to create and sustain visibility and awareness for the Global Fund across the African continent, as well as to build political and financial support for the organization.
It was at the 2001 Special Summit of the African Union on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, also held in Abuja, that African leaders jointly called on the global community to create a Global Fund to raise and channel large amounts of additional resources to assist countries in fighting the three pandemics .
More than 60 percent of approved grant funds across five rounds are for programs in Africa, and the majority of these support programs for treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS. The Global Fund has also become the largest single financier of programs to fight tuberculosis and malaria.
To date, tens of millions of people have been reached with life-saving services: programs in Africa financed by the Global Fund have provided anti-retroviral treatment to 272,000 Africans living with HIV, treated 421,000 people with effective tuberculosis medications and distributed nearly 5.2 million insecticide-treated bed nets to protect children and families from malaria.
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The Global Fund is a unique global public-private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria . This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing . The Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases .
Apart from a high standard of technical quality, the Global Fund attaches no conditions to any of its grants . It is not an implementing agency, instead relying on local ownership and planning to ensure that new resources are directed to programs on the frontline of this global effort to reach those most in need . Its performance-based approach to grant-making is designed to ensure that funds are used efficiently and create real change for people and communities . All programs are monitored by independent organizations contracted by the Global Fund to ensure that its funding has an impact in the fight against these three pandemics .
Around half of the Global Fund’s financing is being spent on medicines, mosquito nets to prevent malaria and other products, while the other half is for strengthening health services . As of the end of December 2005, 384,000 people have begun antiretroviral (ARV) treatment through Global Fund supported programs, nearly triple the number of ARV recipients funded by Global Fund resources by the end of 2004. Taken together, Global Fund supported programs to combat malaria expanded distribution of insecticide treated bed nets to 7 .7 million . In addition, tuberculosis programs have detected and treated more than one million TB cases through DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short course).
Further information, please contact:
Dr. Christoph Benn, Director of External Relations, The Global Fund,
Phone: +41 22 791 1737/ Mobile: +41 79 4451517
christoph.benn@theglobalfund.org
or
Dr. Akudo Anyanwu Ikemba, Friends of the Global Fund Africa
Phone: +1-6178691539 (US)/ Mobile : +234-8033456020 ( Nigeria)
akudoanyanwu@yahoo.com
