[procaare] Global Fund Announces First Grants

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Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Announces First Grants
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GF Press Release ? 25th April 2002

? Commits Up to $616 Million Over Two Years for Prevention and Treatment ?
? Calls for Additional Resources to Address World?s Deadliest Epidemics ?

The new Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today announced its first
round of grants to programs to prevent and treat the three diseases in severely affected
countries. The Fund awarded a total of US$378 million over two years to 40 programs in 31
countries, a significant increase in international spending to combat the diseases.

The Board also agreed a fast-track process to approve an additional US$238 million for 18
proposals in 12 countries, plus three multi-country proposals, provided certain conditions
are met. This would bring the total funding over two years to US$616 million. These
programs add up to US$1.6 billion over five years. Funding after the second year will be
approved based on performance during the first two years.

The announcement came at the conclusion of the second meeting of the Fund?s Board, held
from April 22-24 at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New
York.

Officials described the initial grants as a successful start to the Global Fund, an
independent, public-private partnership working to increase global resources to combat
diseases that kill six million people each year.

?Less than three months after the Global Fund issued its first call for proposals, it is
directing funds where they are needed to help fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria,? said
Dr. Chrispus Kiyonga, chair of the Global Fund?s Board and Minister without Portfolio of
the government of Uganda. ?The Global Fund?s grants will provide critical support to
effective prevention and treatment programs around the world.?

At the same time, Fund officials also noted that more resources are urgently needed to
fight the epidemics.

?UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for US$7-10 billion each year to combat
HIV/AIDS alone,? said Philippa Lawson of the Academy for Educational Development (AED) and
Global Fund Board member representing people living with or affected by one of the three
diseases. ?The Global Fund has raised more than $2 billion in less than a year.  This a
successful start, but the Fund needs far more resources to fight AIDS, TB, and malaria ?
millions of lives are at stake.?

Strong Competition for Limited Resources

The approved grants were selected from more than 300 proposals submitted for the first
round of funding. In all, these proposals requested more than US$5 billion from the Global
Fund over five years.

All eligible proposals were thoroughly evaluated by the Global Fund?s Technical Review
Panel, an independent group of 17 experts in prevention, clinical care, health education,
and international development. Final decisions on grant awards were made by the Board.

?We received far more proposals than we are able to fund in this first round,
demonstrating how great the need is to address HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria,? said Dr. Anders Nordström, Interim Executive Director of the
Global Fund. ?We prioritized high-quality proposals that were based on effective programs
and lessons learned, and were developed by partnerships of governments, community
organizations, people living with the diseases, and other groups.?

?We also prioritized proposals that clearly demonstrated how new resources from the Global
Fund would fill funding gaps and achieve results,? added Dr. Nordström.

The Global Fund plans to issue a second call for proposals later this year. Officials
noted that the Fund will continue to look for ways to make the application process as
accessible as possible to potential grantees.

?We have learned a great deal from the first round of funding,? said Philippa Lawson of
AED. ?Since the Fund is a new mechanism designed to respond to a global crisis, it faces
the challenge and the responsibility to identify and specifically solicit proposals
designed to fill gaps on under-represented components ? including antiretroviral
treatment, and a balanced portfolio of regions, diseases and treatment.?

?The Board is committed to continually improving and streamlining the application process
and helping potential grantees to submit high-quality proposals,? added Ms. Lawson.

Grants Will Support Effective Prevention and Treatment Programs Worldwide

The grants announced today will support a wide range of prevention and treatment programs
for the three diseases. Most of the approved grants include both prevention and treatment
components. Of the 28 countries that will receive funds to fight HIV/AIDS, 21 have grants
that specifically include funding to purchase antiretroviral treatments for people living
with HIV/AIDS.

?The first round of grants reflects the Global Fund?s strong commitment to a comprehensive
approach to fighting HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria that balances prevention and treatment,?
Dr. Kiyonga said.

Dr. Kiyonga also noted that the Fund and its partners have strong monitoring and
evaluation procedures in place to ensure that grant funds will be used properly and have a
measurable impact.

?The Global Fund disburses grants with a minimum of red tape, but with safeguards to
ensure that funds are used wisely and achieve results,? said Dr. Kiyonga. ?We will work
closely with grantees to monitor program implementation, financial management, and health
outcomes.?

The 40 grants awarded today will support HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria programs in all regions
of the world, as follows: Africa 52%, Americas 13%, Eastern Mediterranean 1%, Eastern
Europe and Central Asia 8%, Southeast Asia 12%, and Western Pacific 14%. About 60% of the
funds granted in this round goes to projects working in HIV/AIDS, and an additional 15%
goes to programs fighting HIV/AIDS combined with one or both of the other diseases. Ten
percent goes to programs working to fight malaria, and 16% to programs focusing on
tuberculosis.

Far More Resources Are Needed

Fund officials said today that the initial round of grants is only a first step in
addressing the AIDS, TB and malaria epidemics, and that far more resources are needed to
mount sufficient, effective programs of treatment and prevention for the three diseases.

?This funding is a significant advance in the global fight against AIDS, TB and malaria,
but it is only a first step,? said Dr. Anne Peterson, Assistant Administrator for Global
Health at the US Agency for International Development (USAID). ?More funding is needed
from governments, businesses, foundations, and other donors if we are to mount an
effective and sustained response to these epidemics.?

To date, the Fund has raised approximately US$2.08 billion from industrialized and
developing country governments, businesses,
foundations, and individuals. The Fund supplements, but does not replace, existing
national, bilateral, and multilateral donor programs.

Richard Feachem Appointed Executive Director

Fund officials also announced the appointment of Professor Richard Feachem as Executive
Director of the Global Fund.

Dr. Feachem, a British national, is currently Founding Director of the Institute for
Global Health, and Professor of International Health at the University of California, San
Francisco and Berkeley. Prior to this position he was Director for Health, Nutrition and
Population at the World Bank. From 1989 until 1995, Dr. Feachem was Dean of the London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London. He holds a Doctor of Science in
Medicine and a PhD in Environmental Health.

?Professor Feachem has outstanding experience in the field of international health, and
has worked with both the public and private
sectors,? said Rajat Gupta, Managing Director of McKinsey & Company and Global Fund Board
member. ?We are very pleased about his selection as the Global Fund?s Executive Director.?

?It is a great honor for me to have the opportunity to work for the Global Fund," said Dr.
Feachem. "The poverty and suffering caused by AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are immense.
The Fund is positioned to make large investments in controlling these terrible diseases
and improving the lives of millions of families throughout the world. I look forward to
contributing to the Fund's success, to leading the Secretariat, and to working with the
Fund's many partners and supporters. Together we can make a difference."

Dr. Anders Nordström, Head of the Health Division of the Swedish Agency for Development
Cooperation (SIDA), has been serving as the Global Fund?s Interim Executive Director.

About the Global Fund

AIDS, TB and malaria have a devastating global impact, causing nearly six million deaths a
year ? 10% of the world?s total. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
is an independent public-private partnership working to increase funding to fight the
three diseases, and direct these funds rapidly to effective prevention and treatment
programs in the countries with greatest need. The Fund?s Board includes representatives of
all parties that have a stake in fighting the three diseases: donor and recipient country
governments, international agencies, NGOs, the private sector, and people affected by the
three diseases.

Contacts:

Melanie Zipperer at +41 79 477 1722 or Leyla Alyanak at +41 79 308 9859.
Further information on the Global Fund can be found at www.globalfundatm.org

For more information on proposals approved for funding:
http://www.globalfundatm.org/files/Proposalslist_40.doc

*Cross-posted from the Break-the-Silence forum: break-the-silence@hdnet.org

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