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Press Release |
OTHER PRESS RELEASES |
30 May 2007 |
The Global Fund Welcomes and Applauds
Proposed US$ 30 bn for AIDS
"A challenge to rich countries to save lives"
Geneva - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today warmly welcomed the U.S. proposal to extend the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for another five years and double its resources. It particularly applauded the timing of the announcement just before the G8 summit as the U.S. announcement will set a bold tone for the discussions among the heads of the wealthiest nations about the global AIDS response and the resource needs of the Global Fund.
"PEPFAR is a promise the U.S. has kept, an emergency response to match the scale of the AIDS emergency," said Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund. "The initiative has saved lives and has been part of a growing war on AIDS and other diseases that kill the poorest people on earth. It will enable the U.S. to continue its leading role in the effort to get AIDS treatment, care and prevention to everyone who needs it by 2010. We trust this proposal will inspire increased commitments from other countries."
Approximately 2.2 million people in the developing world receive life-saving AIDS treatment, of approximately 6 million who need it. Later this week, PEPFAR and the Global Fund will release the latest treatment estimates, showing a continued, sharp rise in the number of people receiving AIDS medication from the two programs.
To match global demand for money to fight diseases and strengthen health systems, the Global Fund's board, where the U.S. government holds a seat, agreed at its last meeting in April to seek at least US$ 6 billion a year to fight the three diseases by 2010.
The United States is the largest single donor to the Global Fund, with commitments steadily increasing from US$ 200 million in 2003 to US$ 724 million a year this year, thanks to bipartisan support in Congress. Under the terms of the 2003 Global AIDS Act, every dollar contributed by the U.S. to the Global Fund is matched by $2 from the rest of the world.
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The Global Fund is a unique global public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases.
The Global Fund provides more than 20 percent of international funding to fight AIDS, about the same as PEPFAR, with which it works closely, as well as two-thirds of international funding to fight malaria and tuberculosis.
Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the dominant financer of programs to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, with US$ 10.4 billion in firm pledges and approved funding of US$ 7.6 billion for 450 programs in 136 countries. So far, programs supported by the Global Fund have averted 1.8 million deaths through providing AIDS treatment for 1.1 million people, TB treatment for 2.8 million people, and through the distribution of 30 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria worldwide.
The Global Fund is structured so that no donor resources are spent on overhead, securing that 100 cents out of every dollar reach people in need in developing countries.
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Further information, please contact:
Amanda Mitchell - The Global Fund, U.S. |
Jon Lidén –The Global Fund, Geneva |
