Three African heads of state appealed to rich countries on Wednesday to continue funding the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, reports IRIN.
– I am convinced that working together we can roll back HIV/AIDS and malaria and we can roll back tuberculosis, but we must now shift resolutely from talk to action, Benjamin Mkapa, the Tanzanian president, told the plenary session of the Global Fund meeting in Arusha, Tanzania.
The Global Fund is a public-private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing.
Presidents Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda also attended the plenary session. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan pulled out at the last minute because of a previous commitment to attend the UN Security Council meeting being held in Nairobi, Kenya, but was represented by the executive director of UNAIDS, Peter Piot.
Mkapa said the Global Fund Board was expected to decide on whether or not to launch the fifth funding round.
– I earnestly appeal to all donor governments, international organizations and private donors to make a genuine effort, and show practical support to Africa by raising the resources necessary to fund existing grants and launch new funding rounds, Mkapa said.
– Frankly speaking, meeting for the first time in Africa and not deciding to launch a new funding round would be difficult for Africans to understand. It would send a wrong signal to those struggling with meager resources to address these alarming and pressing health emergencies, he added.
Museveni said he believed firmly in Ugandas model of fighting HIV/AIDS.
– I reaffirm that Ugandas model of ABC (Abstinence, Being faithful and Condom use) is the correct model to halt the AIDS pandemic, he said calling for continued funding of the Global Fund, saying it had helped to cut down the three diseases.
Kibaki said Kenya had benefited greatly from the Global Fund and that the fifth round of funding must be continued to allow Africans to work for the benefit of their respective countries.
US Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson said the US was not against the Global Funds fifth round of the funding, “but wanted firm financial commitments from donors”.
He added that the US had been the single largest contributor since the Fund was launched in 2002. – This is a war we have to win collectively, he said.
The board of the Global Fund began a two-day, closed-door meeting on Thursday. Top on its agenda is the decision of whether or not to call for a new round of grant applications, which would be submitted for approval in 2005.
Board members have to balance the need for increased funding for programmes to fight the three diseases against the Global Funds current resource constraints.
Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has committed 3,2 billion US dollar to 300 programmes in 130 countries. Of this, 570 million dollar has gone to the countries of the Lake Victoria region in East Africa.
The Global Fund consists of nine members representing donors and 10 members representing countries and organisations eligible as recipients of the financing. In addition, there are four non-voting members, representing the UN World Health Organization, UNAIDS, the World Bank and the Swiss government.
Kilde: FN-bureauet IRINnews
