Togo and the Global Fund bolster their partnership
22 September 2015
LOMÉ, Togo - Togo and the Global Fund have reaffirmed their partnership today by signing two new grant agreements totalling close to 37 million euros to combat AIDS and tuberculosis.
The financial resources provided through the Global Fund come from many sources and partners, represented today by the many donors represented at the signing ceremony, including France and Germany.
The HIV grant of close to 33 million euros will help Togo reduce the risk of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV within key populations, improve the quality of life for adults and children living with HIV and treat 100 percent of patients diagnosed with a TB/HIV co‑infection. Togo will use the tuberculosis grant of a just over four million euros to test close to 9,000 cases of all forms of tuberculosis, increase the success rate for treating patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis from 62.5 percent to 67 percent and provide case management for all patients with an TB/HIV co‑infection by the end of 2017.
In addition to financial resources, these grant agreements embody the solidarity between the donors and the people of Togo in an already very significant partnership with the government, parliamentarians, civil society organizations in Togo, the private sector and the following technical and financial partners: the WHO, UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNFPA and the World Bank.
The ceremony, which was chaired by the Prime Minister Komi Sélom Klassou and attended by the Minister of Health for Togo, focused on the need to consolidate existing partnerships in order to strengthen the health systems for an even greater impact in the fight against the HIV, TB and malaria and other health issues.
"These new grants will help us achieve an even greater impact in the fight against AIDS and tuberculosis and step up our efforts to help the most vulnerable communities. The strategic nature of the Global Fund grants facilitates strengthening our health systems, developing partnerships, and lobbying to secure additional investments," Prime Minister Klassou stated in his speech.
France, the second largest contributor to the Global Fund after the United States, was represented by Philippe Meunier, the French Ambassador for AIDS and Transmissible Diseases and by Marc Fonbaustier, France's Ambassador to Togo. They welcomed the signing of the two grants, which will help build on the progress made in combating the pandemics in Togo.
"Francophone and African countries are a French priority for international action. We have to work together in order to achieve the sustainable development goals to be adopted in the coming days in New York and we must strengthen our partnership through an approach that respects human rights and targets key and vulnerable populations," said Mr. Meunier. He also congratulated the Global Fund on achieving excellent results. "This unique partnership has helped save some 17 million lives since the Global Fund was established in 2002. And although the road ahead will be a difficult one, France upholds its commitment to working with you o combat these pandemics.”
On behalf of Germany, the Ambassador Christoph Sander said “The international community must continue to focus on health issues, in particular combating AIDS and tuberculosis. For that reason, Germany chose health as one of the key themes of the G7 Summit in Elmau this past summer.”
Caty Fall, the Global Fund's Regional Manager for Central Africa, stressed that the partnership with the Togolese government is the tangible result of what can be accomplished when we work together to achieve a common goal. “I would also like to highlight the essential role played by our donors and thank them for their commitment to combating AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, better health for the people of Togo, and all their support," she said.