Health groups from around the globe have launched a "Fund the Fund" campaign, demanding that the world's richest countries meet the long-term needs of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. They launched their campaign on the first day of the UN World Health Assembly in Geneva and less than two weeks before the start of the Group of Eight summit in nearby Evian, France.

"The Global Fund was launched with tremendous fanfare at three G8 summits in a row," said Paul Davis, of the U.S.-based pressure group Health Gap. "If they allow the Global Fund to collapse because they are too stingy to contribute the dollars, it means the people in these countries ... will continue to die. There will be a loss in faith to the international community, and it would be a tremendous black eye to the G8 leaders."

Since it started work at the beginning of 2002, the Global Fund has paid out more than US$1.5 billion in more than 90 countries. It has increased sixfold the number of patients receiving AIDS treatment, provided TB treatment for more than 2 million people and funded protection against malaria for more than 6 million people. It also has provided help for half a million AIDS orphans. But it has yet to receive any of the US$1.4 billion it needs by October to finance its third round of projects.

The campaigners point out that failure to provide money for the fund this year would mean that some projects that have already started would have to be stopped, meaning patients who have already started receiving AIDS drugs might have their treatment withdrawn. They want to see a long-term commitment based on nations' share of world gross domestic product. That would mean that a third of the money would come from the United States, while almost a quarter would be from the 15 countries of the European Union and Japan would pay 14 percent.

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