AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, today heartily praised donor countries for rallying to pledge financial support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria. With a renewed US pledge of $5 billion and several first-time pledges from new donor-countries, the Global Fund is already 80% toward its $15 billion replenishment goal. Donor country pledges were announced at, or in conjunction with, the Fourth Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria Conference held in Washington today.
"Given the state of the world economy over the past few years, it is heartwarming to see such generosity to the Global Fund today from donor countries, particularly the many new, first-time donor-countries that are now stepping up—so much so, that between pledges from the US, the UK and first-time donors, the Fund is already eighty percent towards its fundraising goal," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "AHF vows to continue its campaign for a fully-funded Global Fund and to press upper middle income countries, specifically, emerging G20 member-countries such as China, Russia and South Korea, to pay their fair share in an effort to increase contributions above the Fund's stated replenishment goal."
"We also want to salute and thank the US and the UK for leading the way and providing incentive pledges for other countries to match," said Dr. Jorge Saavedra, Global Ambassador for AIDS Healthcare Foundation and a former Global Fund Board Member. "Large contributors such as France, Canada, The Nordic Countries, Japan, Germany and The Netherlands also played a key role. The Global Fund's Comprehensive Reform effort, which is still going on, the GF Strategy 2012-2016 and the Fund's New Funding Model, are making the Fund a better-prepared organization that can better deploy the resources pledged today. This is crucial if the Fund is to have a bigger impact on effective control of the three diseases in its mission—and if we really are to increase the number of people living with HIV/AIDS on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment so that the '15X15' or '20x20' treatment goals can be met." Finally, Dr. Saavedra showed excitement to see that for the first time since the inception of the Global Fund in 2001, Latin America & Caribbean, his native region, will start contributing, thanks to a pledge submitted by Mexico.
The Global Fund is a program funded mainly by wealthy nations that is designed to provide financial assistance to developing countries that lack the resources to fight the three diseases and build up medical infrastructures.
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