China signs new Global Fund HIV and TB grants worth US$52m

China has signed new grants for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis worth US$52m over the first two years.

The total lifetime value of the grants over five years is $120m. The grants are being matched by domestic financial commitments from the Chinese government of $611m over five years to fight HIV/AIDS and $23m over five years to fight TB.

China has previously received Global Fund grants for the three diseases worth $152m over the lifetime of the programmes. Two of these three grants have recently made the successful transition to the second phase of their five-year plan, beyond the initially ap-proved two-year period. Transition is dependent on proof of successful programme performance.

The new tuberculosis grant - worth $28m over the first two years - will promote better collaboration between and referrals from hospitals to TB clinics; increase case-detection by increasing awareness and knowledge of TB in the general population; and reinforce management capacity at central and provincial levels during the rapid DOTS expansion phase.

This grant builds on the work of an earlier Global Fund TB grant and seeks to further target TB patients in the poorest and most vulnerable communities in China, focusing on 24 central-western provinces in China where prevalence of TB is up to 70% higher than in the eastern provinces.

The new HIV/AIDS Global Fund grant - worth $24m over the first two years - supports a programme collaborating with the UK Government's Department for International Development (DFID). The programme especially targets intravenous drug users (IDUs) and commercial sex workers (CSWs) in seven provinces in south and western China.