UK pledges £1 billion to fight AIDS, TB and malaria
pharmafile | September 24, 2013 | News story | Medical Communications, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | AIDS, TB, funding, malaria
The government has committed £1 billion over the next three years to charitable financier the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
The money will pay for 750,000 courses of antiretroviral therapy for people with HIV, 32 million mosquito nets to tackle the spread of malaria, and TB treatment for more than a million patients.
International development secretary Justine Greening made the announcement at this week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying: “It is in all our interests to help people to live longer, healthier, more productive lives so we all need to play our part in working towards a world free of HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB.”
The Global Fund is financed by both governments and private organisations. It is a major player in international aid and has distributed more than $23 billion in grants since it was established in 2002.
Britain was one of the Geneva-based organisation’s founding donors and is now its second largest backer, after the US.
The government’s pledge is conditional on it accounting for a maximum of 10% of total contributions. This means that the Global Fund must raise at least £10 billion in the current 2014-2016 funding drive for Britain to fully deliver on its commitment.
The organisation set a $20 billion donations target for the 2011-2013 period, but only managed to hit $11.7 billion.
It remains to be seen if it will have more success with its latest, more conservative goal. Although some early signs appear positive, with a group of Nordic countries including Sweden and Norway increasing their contributions by 20 per cent.
The Global Fund was embroiled in controversy in 2011 when allegations of corruption among its grant recipients emerged – claims later dismissed by a retrospective audit.
The appointment late last year of new executive director Mark Dybul appears to have settled any residual unrest, representing a fresh start for the organisation.
Britain is already in the middle of a separate £1 billion agreement with the charitable body, scheduled for delivery between 2008 and 2015.
Targets set for this programme include halving malaria deaths in at least ten severely affected countries, immunising more than 55 million children against preventable diseases, and giving 10 million more women access to family planning methods.
Global Fund board chair Nafsiah Mboi praised the government’s new funding pledge, saying: “The UK gives us all an inspiring model of responsible global citizenship.”
Hugh McCafferty
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