12 November 2010
Worth US$ 380 million, agreement will simplify management
Geneva – The Government of Rwanda and The Global Fund have signed a Single Stream of Funding grant, an innovation recently introduced with the aim of simplifying the implementation of grants given to countries to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
The Single Stream of Funding grant, signed in Rwanda on November 7, consolidated three grants to fight HIV and AIDS: two which already existed and one which was recently approved. The consolidated grant is worth approximately US$ 380 million and covers a three-year period. The money will help Rwanda halve HIV incidence, reduce AIDS-related morbidity and mortality and ensure that people infected and affected by HIV have their rights respected.
“By having a single stream of funding for Rwanda’s HIV response, we will reduce the complexity for the country considerably and align our financing more closely with Rwanda’s needs”, said Professor Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Rwanda has taken the initiative to streamline its grant management and in May consolidated all of its three tuberculosis grants into one single stream of funding.
The Global Fund has decided to adopt single streams of funding after assessing, together with countries receiving funds, the implementation of multiple grants to fight the same disease. The new system will streamline grant management, reducing the number of administrative tasks such as the production of technical and financial reports.
The Single Stream of Funding is part of The Global Fund’s new architecture, developed to make grant management more simple and efficient. Over 40 Single Stream of Funding grants have been signed, the majority of them in Africa.
Rwanda is one of the countries in Africa that is set to reach the Millennium Development Goals targets, if its interventions keep the current pace, particularly in the area of maternal and children's health. The country reduced under-five mortality by 50% and maternal mortality by 64%, between 2000 and 2008.
The financial resources consolidated in the Single Stream of Funding grant will help Rwanda reach universal access to key HIV services and programs.