Global Fund Welcomes U.S. Budget Decision
10 April 2013
GENEVA - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria strongly welcomed the US$1.65 billion requested for the Global Fund in President Obama's budget, which was released today. It will make a tremendous difference in the fight against these highly infectious diseases.
"This budget decision is an indication that the United States considers the Global Fund to be an excellent investment," said Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund. "Even in a challenging budget climate, the United States is making a priority of global health, and that makes it possible for our partners around the world to defeat these diseases."
The U.S. budget was released just as the Global Fund completed a two-day conference with donors and other partners on how increased resources for the 2014-2016 period can dramatically alter the course of AIDS, TB and malaria and bring them completely under control.
At the conference, the Global Fund and partners discussed shared responsibility and analyzed a detailed needs assessment, where experts demonstrated that raising the Global Fund's goal of US$15 billion, when combined with funding from other sources, would have a transformative effect on the incidence and death rates from the three diseases.
The United States is the leading donor to the Global Fund, and has provided one-third of its funding. Over the last ten years, the partnership between the Global Fund and U.S. bilateral programs, including the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), has been central to dramatic advances in preventing and treating HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
"We have an extraordinary window of opportunity before us," said Dr Dybul. "We applaud and thank the U.S. for its leadership. We hope others will also join the efforts to seize this moment."