The Global Fund has rapidly become the main financial engine behind
the scale-up of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT). We
recognize the need to take a more proactive role in facilitating
the change to ACT, where data suggest that existing drugs are ineffective.
The Global Fund has committed to a set of actions (some completed,
some ongoing, some newly initiated) in order to play its full part
in the accelerated use of effective malaria treatment. Together,
these steps are aimed at ensuring that the Global Fund will encourage
and facilitate a rapid shift to ACT where appropriate, both in already
approved and future grants. See Global Fund commitments
(PDF - 11 Kb) and outline of Global Fund malaria
treatment review process (PDF - 9 Kb).
An article in January 2004 (Attaran et al, "Viewpoint: WHO,
the Global Fund, and medical malpractice in malaria treatment",
The Lancet, Vol 363, January 17, 2004 has been central
to the ongoing debate. The Global Fund fully supports The Lancet
article's authors in calling for a more rapid change to effective
malaria treatment, and we acknowledge the article's importance in
bringing the proper urgency to the issue.
