Global Fund Seeks to Cast Wider AIDS Finance Net

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, which relies primarily on government contributions, is in a precarious financial position and needs almost $1 billion to meet existing commitments, according to a report it released before a weekend meeting in Durban with major donors. "Getting money out of even the richest governments in the world is not an easy task," Fund Communication Director Jon Liden told a news conference in Johannesburg.

The report said the Global Fund had clear evidence its programs were working, with more than half a million people now receiving AIDS drugs and 1.4 million being treated for TB thanks to its funding. Founded 4.5 years ago as the primary financing vehicle for efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, the fund has committed $5.4 billion in grants, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.

The organization has also purchased millions of insecticide-treated bed nets -- an inexpensive, effective way to prevent mosquito-borne malaria transmission. "These results demonstrate that where countries are given the resources they need, progress ... is possible," fund Director Richard Feachem said in a statement.

Since it began, the Global Fund has had difficulty persuading rich nations to contribute, despite repeated calls from groups such as the Group of Eight developed countries. Liden said while the United States and Britain have fulfilled most of their commitments, other countries are lagging.

"The European Union as a whole could do more ... [and] the Middle East sits on a fair amount of money," Liden said. He added that those governments, plus Japan and rapidly developing Asian countries, could be new sources for fund money.

Brian Brink, chief medical officer at South African mining company Anglo American, and an alternate board member of the fund, said major corporations should support the fund, which was envisioned as a public-private partnership.

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