Global Fund Commits $968 Million to New Grants Over Two Years

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria announced its pledge of 69 country grants. These grants are approved with an initial funding commitment of two years and have a lifetime of five years. Over the full five years, the grants will put 932,000 people on antiretroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS. They will also finance 123 million artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) anti-malarial treatments, 44 million impregnated bed nets, and DOTS treatment for 640,000 new tuberculosis patients.

Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the world's premier financing mechanism in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. These three diseases kill more than six million people each year. The U.S. government has contributed $623 million to the Global Fund and will contribute up to $547 million in FY2004. The Fund relies on the work being done by bilateral agencies such as USAID and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which provide invaluable technical and program assistance to help build the capacity needed to implement Global Fund programs.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson serves as the Global Fund Board Chair and Assistant Administrator for Global Health. Dr. E. Anne Peterson serves as the U.S. Board Member. USAID played a key role in establishing the Secretariat of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and in creating the Fund’s monitoring and evaluation strategy.

This fourth round of grant approvals since the Global Fund was established in 2002 brings the total Global Fund two-year commitments for all four rounds of funding to $3 billion for 307 grants in 128 countries and two regions.

More than 85 percent of the money approved in this round will go to low-income countries. Nearly 70 percent will go to Africa, 48 percent will go for HIV/AIDS, while 40 percent will be spent on malaria.

Over four rounds and the full five-year terms of all programs approved to date, the Global Fund is investing over $8 billion and will finance antiretroviral treatments for 1.6 million people, DOTS treatment for 3.5 million patients, 160 million ACT treatments, 108 million impregnated bed nets, and voluntary HIV/AIDS counseling and testing for 52 million people.

The Global Fund provides grants to locally-developed programs to prevent and treat AIDS, TB and malaria. Countries and organizations may apply for funding by submitting proposals in ongoing funding rounds. Proposals are first screened for eligibility by the Secretariat and are then forwarded to an independent Technical Review Panel of experts who assess proposals for technical merit and consistency according to proven best practices. In January 2004, the Global Fund issued its fourth call for proposals for grant funding with an application deadline of early April 2004.

The Global Fund is a unique global public-private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts in treating the three diseases.