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Press Release |
OTHER PRESS RELEASES |
15 February 2008 |
(RED) Art Auction Raises More Than
US$ 40 Million for the Global Fund
GENEVA – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today welcomed news that the (RED) Valentine's Day auction of contemporary art raised more than US$ 40 million. Proceeds from the auction will be invested by the Global Fund into programs to fight AIDS in Africa.
"We are very excited by this extraordinary result, which brings (RED)'s total contribution to more than US$ 100 million in less than two years," said Dr Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund. "I wish to warmly thank Bono, Bobby Shriver and the (RED) team, as well as Damien Hirst, and all the artists who so generously contributed with their work. Thanks also go to the Gagosian Gallery and Sotheby's in New York. This is yet more confidence expressed in the work of the Global Fund and those thousands of health workers who turn the money into lives saved. This art will literally save thousands of lives."
(RED), launched in 2006, is a brand designed to engage business and consumer power in the fight against AIDS in Africa. It was created to deliver a sustainable flow of private sector funds to the Global Fund and to raise public awareness about the AIDS emergency in Africa.
(RED) partners are Gap, Hallmark, Apple, Motorola, Emporio Armani, American Express, Converse, Microsoft and Dell. Partner contributions from the sale of (RED) products are transferred directly to the Global Fund to invest in AIDS programs in Rwanda, Swaziland and Ghana. The Global Fund takes no overhead so every cent of every dollar (RED) provides reaches Africa, funding programs with a primary focus on women and children affected by the AIDS pandemic. (RED) money has already provided antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to more than 45,000 people and reached more than a million women and children with counseling, HIV testing and other services.
Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the dominant financer of programs to fight AIDS, TB and malaria with approved funding of US$ 10.1 billion for more than 550 programs in 136 countries. So far, programs supported by the Global Fund have averted 2 million deaths through providing AIDS treatment for 1.45 million people, TB treatment for 3.3 million people, and through the distribution of 46 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria worldwide.
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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, as well as two-thirds of international funding to fight malaria and tuberculosis.
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For broadcast standard video supporting this event, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/globalfund If you are a first-time user, please take a moment to register. In case you have any questions, please e-mail
Global Fund Contacts: Jon Liden - in Geneva Cheryl Toksoz - in Geneva |
