Global Fund Receives Funding Requests of $5.8 Billion for Sixth-Round Grants, Asks for Additional Donations

The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Monday announced at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto that it has received new funding requests from 97 countries for 185 projects totaling $5.8 billion over the next five years, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. According to AFP/Yahoo! News, 40% of the new proposals plan to fight HIV/AIDS, 31% will be used to combat malaria and 29% for tuberculosis. Sixty percent of the funding requests come from Africa, according to AFP/Yahoo! News. The Global Fund's needs in 2006 include $1.8 billion in funding for current programs and an additional $1.1 billion for the newly submitted proposals, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. For 2006, the Global Fund has received pledges totaling $525 million, and it has a shortfall of about $500 million (AFP/Yahoo! News, 8/14). The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Wednesday announced a $500 million donation over the next five years to the fund. Of that total, $200 million will go to help underwrite the fund's sixth round of grants scheduled to be awarded in November, according to Global Fund Executive Director Richard Feachem (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 8/10). "The many applications show that countries are continuing to scale up their efforts and have the capacity to do so," Feachem said, adding, "That is very good news." Carol Jacobs, chair of the Global Fund Board, said, "Following strong endorsements in the form of contributions by the Gates Foundation and the Russian Federation, this round of requests shows the confidence affected countries have in the Global Fund's approach to help meet their needs." She added, "We must honor that confidence by making sure we secure sufficient pledges to finance every grant that is recommended for funding." The Global Fund Board will meet in November to approve recommended proposals (Global Fund release, 8/14).

Related News
In related news, the Global Fund on Monday launched a campaign that will sell postage stamps to raise money to fight HIV/AIDS and to send positive messages about the virus, Agence France-Presse reports. The stamps -- which have the slogan "Hope Spreads Faster Than AIDS" and pictures of the virus on them -- went on sale in the U.S. on Monday, with 25% of the sales going toward the fund, Agence France-Presse reports. According to the Global Fund, the campaign will extend to metered mail on Sept. 1, with 90% of the sales going to the fund, and will be expanded to other countries next year. "We want to spread the message that we can turn this pandemic around," Feachem said, adding, "We have seen how the programs we support already have achieved great results. This is a fight we can win" (Agence France-Presse, 8/14).

Kaisernetwork.org is serving as the official webcaster of the conference. View the guide to coverage and all webcasts, interviews and a daily video round up of conference highlights at www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2006.

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