Call for Europe to contribute $1bn to Global Fund in 2004

Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, and French president Jacques Chirac have promised to fight for a US$1bn contribution from the European Union to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Speaking at an international conference hosted by the French government to highlight the progress of the Global Fund, Chirac also called on the US to allocate a similar amount each year to the Fund.

'The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is an outstanding instrument,' he said. 'It was set up in record time. It is already operating on the ground, saving lives. Naturally we will assess its efficiency very carefully. But I am convinced that this multilateral response expresses, better than any other, the ideal of solidarity and collective action that must impel us.'

There was a unified call by the speakers, who included Nelson Mandela and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, for sufficient new money to ensure that the Global Fund can finance the rapidly increasing needs of programmes in countries with heavy burdens of disease. 'Turning the tide of AIDS, TB and malaria is a priority second to none,' said Annan. 'The Fund is there to fill a specific and substantial gap to scale up by providing effective funding.'

The Global Fund is a funding mechanism for country-based programmes of proven interventions against the three diseases. Initial funding is provided for two years, with continued support dependent on programme performance. In its first two rounds of grant applications, the Global Fund approved grants worth $1.5bn over two years to more than 150 programmes in 92 countries.

Since March, the Fund has doubled its disburse-ment every month and is on track to provide $200m by the end of the year. For 2004, $2.6bn has been pledged, with a further $2.1bn pledged for 2005 to 2008. An additional $3bn is required to fund its next three rounds of approved grant applications.