Opinion pieces urge continued support for Global Fund

Apr 12 2013

This week, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria gathered representatives from donor and implementing countries in Brussels, Belgium, to formally launch its 2014-2016 replenishment process. The following is a summary of two opinion pieces on continued support for the Global Fund.

• Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Huffington Post "The Big Push": "Over the past decade, rapidly growing donor aid, channeled mainly through the Global Fund, has made a tangible difference in the lives of millions," Chaka Chaka, a South African recording artist and Roll Back Malaria goodwill ambassador, writes. She urges leaders to continue funding global health efforts, adding, "If the resources that made their successes possible dry up, the gains of a decade of collective effort will be lost and the cost of putting out the flares of reemerging epidemics will likely far exceed the investment needed today." Chaka Chaka notes, "Analysts say that growth in Africa has a good chance of outpacing that of Asia over the next five years," and she adds, "To reap the benefits of such growth and catalyze sustainable development, African leaders need to invest more in the health of its people -- Africa's most precious resource" (4/10).
• Lucy Chesire, Huffington Post "Impact": Chesire, executive director and secretary to the Board of the TB ACTION group, describes the Brussels meetings, writing, "One of the key points for me coming out of the last few days ... is that in Brussels, the Global Fund is seen as a success story." She continues, "The clear message ... was that we cannot afford to be complacent, we pay now or we pay forever. It left me looking at the future with more hope and faith, since we have the evidence, and with additional resources we can end TB, AIDS and malaria." Chesire includes a video of "Here I Am" campaign members, and she continues, "We can either stay where we have been, which has achieved a significant amount but still not reached everybody ... or we can find the resources needed now to capitalize on the gains we have made and tip the balance toward the other side ... where we can dramatically increase impact and reach those who haven't been reached yet, those who are hardest to reach and those who are most at risk" (4/9).