Senegal and Global Fund Partners Invest in HIV Programs
16 June 2015
DAKAR, Senegal - The Government of Senegal and the Global Fund reaffirmed their partnership today by signing two new grant agreements totaling €19.4 million to support programs against HIV.
The financial resources provided through the Global Fund come from many donors, represented at today’s signing ceremony by France, the United States and Japan.
These grants will allow Senegal to expand activities against HIV through increased community involvement and prevention and other services at health facilities, with focus on vulnerable areas and key populations.
Senegal currently provides antiretroviral treatment to 71 percent of adults with HIV, and 80 percent of pregnant women with HIV. Mother-to-child-transmission of HIV is now only 4.3 percent. The number of new HIV infections in Senegal declined by 50 percent between 2002 and 2013.
The grants embody partnership with the Senegalese civil society association Alliance Nationale Contre le SIDA, together with UNAIDS, UNICEF, USAID and WHO.
Speaking at the ceremony, Prof. Awa Marie Coll-Seck, Minister of Health, underlined the efforts made together with international and national partners to fight HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and thanked the Global Fund for its ongoing support.
“These new grants will enable us to do even more to fight AIDS and scale up the work being done in the communities,” said Prof. Coll-Seck. “The strategic nature of Global Fund financing facilitates the establishment of partnerships and encourages investments in addition to the provision of funds.”
Magatte Mbodj, Executive Director of the Alliance Nationale Contre le SIDA, added: “These two grants are very important for civil society; they will help us to strengthen the capacity of community organizations, provide more support for those advocating against all forms of stigma and help create a better environment for respecting human and gender-based rights, and the rights of key populations.”
On behalf of France, Dr. Jean-Pierre Lamarque, Regional Advisor for Health Cooperation for West Africa congratulated Senegal's Country Coordinating Mechanism for their work which resulted in the signing of two grant agreements. “We are honored that the 5 percent Initiative, now being implemented by France Expertise, was able to support these applications,” Dr. Lamarque said. “We welcome the fact that the Global Fund grants — to which France is a major contributor — will complement the funds contributed by other bilateral actors such as Agence Francaise de Développement, Belgium and the U.S. and multilateral organizations such as GAVI and UN agencies which are helping to make real improvements to the health of Senegal's population.”
“I congratulate all of our partners for their efforts, foremost among them the Ministry of Health, the Alliance Nationale Contre le SIDA, and all community organizations," said Cynthia Mwase, Head of the Global Fund's Africa and Middle East Department. “I would also like to highlight the essential role of our donors and thank them for their dedication.”