The Global Fund welcomes Africa commission's recommendations
11 March 2005
Geneva, Switzerland – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria welcomes the recommendations presented today by the Commission for Africa. The Global Fund applauds the CFA for its strong statement recognizing that with respect to Africa “there is no substitute for the large increase in resources that are required to reverse the years of chronic under-investment in education, health and social protection.”
The Commission calls for substantial new “investments in people”, both by donors and by African nations themselves, and calls on the world’s rich countries to fully finance the Global Fund.
“The Commission for Africa has come out with a clear, bold and realistic vision for how Africa and the rest of the world together can bring this continent onto a road of development and prosperity,” said the Global Fund’s Executive Director, Richard Feachem. “We welcome the priority that the Commission for Africa has given to providing insecticide-treated bed nets and effective malaria drugs, as well as drastically scaling up the battle against HIV/AIDS. These are key elements in the core business of the Global Fund.”
The announcement by the Commission for Africa recognizes the Global Fund as an important instrument for strengthening coordinated efforts by donors and African governments.
The Commission’s recommendations come only days before representatives from more than 40 donor countries gather in Stockholm to consider the Global Fund’s financial needs for the coming three years. At the replenishment conference which will take place on March 14-16, the donors will hear about the progress made since the Global Fund was created in 2002.
The Global Fund needs $2.3 billion in 2005 to honor current commitments. For 2006 and 2007 the needs are $3.5 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively. Donors will meet at a second replenishment conference in London in September, hosted by the government of the United Kingdom and chaired by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, to announce their pledges.
The Global Fund has so far committed $3.2 billion to over 300 programs in 127 countries. Around 60 percent of this funding is for Africa, and 55 percent is for fighting HIV/AIDS. Half of the funding is being spent on medicines, malaria mosquito nets and other products, while the other half is for strengthening health services.
In welcoming the Commission for Africa report, the Global Fund is committed to serving as an effective partner in the urgent need to address the crippling disease burden on the African continent.