STOP PRESS: Global Fund Announces Launch of Round 5
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GLOBAL FUND OBSERVER (GFO) NEWSLETTER, a service of Aidspan
Issue 35 Thursday 18 November 2004. (For formatted web, Word
and PDF versions of this and other issues, see
http://www.aidspan.org/gfo/archives/newsletterwww.aidspan.org/gfo/archives/newsletter
STOP PRESS: Global Fund Announces Launch of Round 5
The following is a press release issued by the Global Fund
within the past hour. GFO is present in Arusha, and after the
board meeting closes at the end of tomorrow, Friday November 19,
GFO will send out a further issue providing information on this
and other important decisions made at the meeting.
18 November 2004
Global Fund Board Agrees to Launch New Round of Proposals
Round 5 to be approved in September 2005 following high-level
sessions to pledge multiyear resources to the Global Fund
Arusha, Tanzania Following a high-level session with the
Presidents of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and the United Kingdom
Secretary of State for Development, the Board of the Global Fund
decided today to call for a fifth round of proposals in March,
to be considered for approval by the Board in September.
The Chair of the Board, United States Secretary of Health and
Human Services Tommy G. Thompson said of the decision, The
Board is proud to announce a 5th round of funding that will de-
liver critical aid in our fight against AIDS, TB and malaria.
Todays unanimous decision reflects the Boards unwavering com-
mitment to turning the tide against these diseases and ensuring
the long-term viability and accountability of the Global Fund. I
applaud all Board members for reaching a consensus that provides
hope for the suffering while affirming the Funds need to pro-
ceed with responsibility and fiscal prudence.
The Global Fund calls for grant proposals, which are evaluated
by an independent Technical Review Panel. Proposals of high
quality are recommended to the Board for funding. The Global
Fund Board approves programs for two years with an option to re-
new funding for another three years if the programs achieve tar-
geted results. Since it was created in January 2002, the Global
Fund has committed $3 billion in two-year grants to 128 coun-
tries.
The Vice-Chair of the Board, Executive Director of the French
non-governmental organization AIDES, Helene Rossert-Blavier,
added, A new round of proposals will ensure that the Global
Fund continues to expand its funding. This will enable us to
fulfill the hopes of millions of people around the world by pro-
viding more people with AIDS, TB and malaria treatment and in-
crease prevention efforts.
The approval of Round 5 in 2005 will raise funding requirements
in that year to $2.4 billion, with $1.4 billion needed for the
renewals of existing grants. Regardless of the timing of new
grants, roughly $2.7 billion will be additionally required for
renewals after 2005.
The Global Funds Executive Director, Richard Feachem, added,
The Global Fund is three years old, and as it moves forward we
face the dual challenge of making current grants work as quickly
and effectively as possible and raising more money to meet the
urgent need to scale up prevention and treatment in countries
with acute needs. Todays decision by the Board shows its com-
mitment to meet these challenges.
The decision by the Board follows a meeting in Arusha of African
Heads of State, where a statement by the United Nations Secre-
tary-General applauded the Global Fund for firmly estab-
lish[ing] yourselves as one of the leading financial mechanisms
in the global fight against the three diseases.
At this meeting the British Secretary of State Hilary Benn
joined the Heads of State in calling for an urgent launch to
Round 5 and affirmed the intention of the United Kingdom to fo-
cus its 2005 Presidencies of the Group of Eight (G8) and the
European Union (EU) on development and on Africa. As part of
that commitment, Benn offered that the UK will host a replenish-
ment conference for the Global Fund in September 2005.
The Global Fund uses a voluntary replenishment mechanism,
whereby donors can make multiyear pledges to the Global Fund at
replenishment conferences. The Board nominated UN Secretary Gen-
eral Kofi Annan as the Chair of the Replenishment Mechanism and
the Director of the International Task Force on Global Public
Goods, Sven Sandström, as Vice-Chair. The first replenishment
mechanism will take place in 2005. An initial meeting will be
held in Stockholm in March, with a final meeting in the UK in
September, at which time donors will make new pledges to the
Global Fund. Most, but not all, of the Global Funds major do-
nors will participate in this process.
The Global Fund is holding its first Board Meeting in Africa
this week. Board members and partners also visited Global Fund
projects in Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania to see the progress of
Global Fund grantees. Rwanda, for example, has used Global Fund
monies to establish 66 HIV counseling and testing centers and to
place more than 5,000 people on AIDS treatment. The Board is
also holding a retreat on Saturday to consider operational chal-
lenges facing the future of the Global Fund.
Roughly 60 percent of the Glob al Funds committed funding is
for HIV/AIDS, 30 percent for malaria, and the rest for TB. Also,
roughly two-thirds of the allocated funds goes to countries in
sub-Saharan Africa.
Note: Final decisions by the Ninth Board Meeting are pending the
conclusion of the meeting on Friday, November 19, 2004.
Further information can be obtained from Patrick Bertrand,
available in Arusha at + 255-745-317-702.
The Global Fund is a unique global public-private partnership
dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to
prevent and treat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partner-
ship between governments, civil society, the private sector and
affected communities represents a new approach to international
health financing. The Fund works in close collaboration with
other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement ex-
isting efforts dealing with the three diseases.
Apart from a high standard of technical quality, the Global Fund
attaches no conditions to any of its grants. It is not an imple-
menting agency, instead relying on local ownership and planning
to ensure that new resources are directed to programs on the
frontline of this global effort to reach those most in need. Its
performance-based approach to grant-making is designed to ensure
that funds are used efficiently and create real change for peo-
ple and communities. All programs are monitored by independent
organizations contracted by the Global Fund to ensure that its
funding is having an impact in the fight against the three pan-
demics.
Further information on the work of the Global Fund can be ob-
tained from Tim Clark, Global Fund External Relations,
mailto:tim.clark@theglobalfund.org or +41-22-791-1768.
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