Posted on November 13, 2008

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria Awards Record $2.75 Billion

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has announced ninety-four grants totaling $2.75 billion over two years.

More than half the approved funding (51 percent) will go to support malaria programs, while 38 percent will be directed to AIDS-related programs and 11 percent will be earmarked for tuberculosis programs. Ninety percent of the approved grants were awarded to organizations or initiatives in low-income countries, with 77 percent going to organizations working in Africa and the Middle East, 14 percent to Asia and the Western Pacific, 6 percent to Latin America and the Caribbean, and 6 percent to Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

This is the eighth, and largest, round of grantmaking in the organization's history, and more than doubles any previous round. The fund has awarded $14.4 billion for initiatives in 140 countries since its establishment in 2002.

"This exceptional expression of increased demand requires a renewed resource mobilization effort," said Global Fund executive director Michel Kazatchkine. "We have a fantastic message to bring back to the rich nations of the world: Programs to fight these three diseases save lives, reduce disease burdens, and strengthen health systems. We are asking you for resources for an effective way to reduce the gap between rich and poor and build a better and safer world."

In a separate development, the organization has launched Friends of the Global Fund South- and West Asia in New Delhi to advocate for programs supported by the fund in those regions and to help recipient countries get the best possible results from their grants.