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The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria needs $13 billion to $20 billion during 2011-13 to support its grants to programs in developing nations. On Monday, however, its executive director acknowledged that the current financial crisis creates "a very difficult context" in which to secure donors' contributions. "The challenge is the resources," Michel Kazatchkine said ahead of the agency's board meeting in Geneva. Kazatchkine said he will spend most of his time until the pledging conference in October trying to secure support from donors. He is working especially to find financial support from Gulf nations and member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will chair the pledge meeting in New York.
For the 2008-10 period, the Global Fund provided $9.7 billon to worthy programs to prevent the three targeted diseases. "We were $3 billion short; the Global Fund could not respond to all the quality demands we have received," Kazatchkine said.
With Ethiopia in the lead, some states are lobbying to expand the Global Fund's mission to include all UN health-related Millennium Development goals.
"I don't think in a year of difficult replenishment it is the right time to broaden the mandate of the Global Fund," said Kazatchkine. One major supporter of the fund, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is also "strongly opposed" to an expansion, he added.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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