10 May – Geneva – A new financial forecast by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria estimates that more than US$ 1.6 billion in additional funding will be available in 2012-14 for investment in projects.
The Global Fund says that the new forecast is the result of strategic decisions that have freed up funds for investment where the need is most pressing. In addition, renewed confidence in the effectiveness of the Global Fund has led to new donations from some countries, and accelerated donations from others. Some countries volunteered to forgo funding so that it could be redirected to countries with more pressing needs.
“This forecast is better than expected, and it comes from the fantastic response we are getting to our transformation,” said Gabriel Jaramillo, General Manager of the Global Fund. “But we need more to get the job done. Countries that implement our grants are saving more and more people, but demand for services is still enormous. With more money, we can save more lives.”
The Global Fund says that US$ 616 million of the available funding can be put to work as soon as grant requests have reviewed by the Technical Review Panel and approved by the Board. The Fund will consult countries and partners on how to most effectively invest the additional US$ 1 billion.
“We are very pleased to see these fresh figures showing that we might be able to bring live-saving TB interventions to the people that need it most, and to scale up sooner rather than later,” said Dr Lucica Ditiu, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership. “Finding and treating people with TB, including those who are also living with HIV, remains one of the most cost-efficient health investments and we welcome this opportunity to accelerate the global response.”