An Update From the Global Fund Board Meeting in Geneva

Leave a commentGlobalApril 10, 2012

By Eric Goosby, Ambassador, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (Cross-posted from DipNote U.S. Department of State Official Blog)

Recently, I met with my fellow Global Fund

Board members in Geneva and I am buoyed by the reform that is happening at the Fund under the leadership of new General Manager Gabriel Jaramillo. As everyone knows, the United States has been pushing aggressively for reform, linking our historic pledge of $4 billion from FY 2011 — 2013 to it. I am pleased to report that while we have been encouraged by the significant reforms the Fund has been pursuing over the past year, the pace of reform has now quickened — meaning that the Fund will be able to save even more lives.

The Fund remains absolutely committed to ensuring the disbursement of approximately $10 billion in its current funding period, 2011-2013 — $2 billion more than it disbursed between 2008 and 2010. This includes money for new, ambitious programs, such as Round 10 grants

, and will allow countries to continue and, in many cases, scale up, successful programs. Moreover, Mr. Jaramillo is making significant organizational changes, increasing staffing in the priority area of grant and program management by 40 percent, while streamlining other positions to ensure effective and efficient use of all staff resources. The Inspector General will continue to work diligently to crack down on any fraud and abuse that occurs in spite of the best efforts of the Fund.

As the reform occurs, we are also beginning to see others answering the Obama Administration’s call to support the Fund. On World AIDS Day, the President said, “To the global community — we ask you to join us. Countries that have committed to the Global Fund need to give the money that they promised. Countries that haven’t made a pledge, they need to do so. That includes countries that in the past might have been recipients, but now are in a position to step up as major donors.” Since then, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the Gates Foundation have all pledged their support. We are aggressively leveraging President Obama’s call for $1.65 billion in FY13, which fulfilled our groundbreaking multi-year pledge of $4 billion, in order to expand the total resources available for the fight.

A strong Global Fund is critical as we move aggressively to a sustainable response to HIV/AIDS. When PEPFAR and the Fund coordinate, our investments against AIDS are expanded both geographically and programmatically. Simply put, a strong PEPFAR requires a strong Global Fund. In many countries, the governments outline a division of labor among Global Fund, national, and PEPFAR resources. For example, in Angola and South Sudan, Fund grants support the purchase of ARV drugs while PEPFAR’s bilateral program supports health worker training and the delivery of ARVs to patients.

In Malawi, PEPFAR and the Global Fund engage in joint programming and joint financing. Together, PEPFAR and Fund-financed programs support treatment for close to 280,000 people, reaching about 70 percent of those in need. In addition, the government of Malawi targets Global Fund financing to deeply rural communities, where 85 percent of the population lives, working through district governments and local-community based organizations. PEPFAR bilateral funding is then targeted to HIV need in more urban populations. Finally, PEPFAR and UNICEF, which receives Global Fund dollars, partner to address prevention of mother-to-child transmission. UNICEF purchases the drugs, while PEPFAR supports the supply chain, training, laboratory, and quality assurance needed for the program.

I am proud of the U.S. commitment to the Global Fund, in part because it is a commitment to the work of PEPFAR. We have a unique opportunity in a tight fiscal environment to support the Fund at this critical juncture. It is the right thing to do, and together, we will save and improve more lives.
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