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Press Release |
OTHER PRESS RELEASES |
2 March 2007 |
JAPAN INCREASES SUPPORT FOR THE GLOBAL FUND IN 2007
Geneva – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today enthusiastically welcomes Japan’s announcement of a new contribution of US$186 million.
This pushes Japan’s contributions to the Global Fund to more than US$ 662 million since its creation in 2002, making it the organization’s third-largest donor.
“Japan has been a strong supporter of the Global Fund ever since leaders of G8 countries called for its creation at their meeting in Okinawa in 2000,” said former Prime Minister of Japan and chair of the Board of “Friends of the Fund Japan” Yoshiro Mori. “Millions of people around the world, infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, depend on the resources of the Global Fund. Japan is taking its responsibility to help these people to heart.”
The Japanese contribution comes as the Global Fund prepares for its second replenishment process, which will begin on 6 and 7 March with a meeting in Oslo, hosted by the Norwegian government.
“Japan’s new contribution to the Global Fund is setting an example for other countries to follow,” said Sir Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “The Japanese government recognizes the Global Fund as an effective way to reach millions of people suffering from these terrible pandemics. This new commitment will enable us to help millions more.”
To date, tens of millions of people have already been reached with lifesaving services provided through the Global Fund. Programs benefiting from Global Fund resources have provided antiretroviral treatment to 770,000 people with HIV, treated two million people with effective tuberculosis medications and distributed 18 million insecticide-treated bed nets to protect children and families from malaria.
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The Global Fund is a unique global public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases.
The Global Fund has approved grants for over 450 programs in 136 countries with a total commitment of US$ 7.1 billion. As of December 2006, 770,000 people have begun antiretroviral (ARV) treatment through Global Fund-supported programs and nearly 18 million insecticide-treated bed nets have been distributed to prevent malaria. In addition, tuberculosis programs have detected and treated two million TB cases under DOTS, the internationally-approved TB control strategy.
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Further information, please contact:
Jon Lidén – The Global Fund, Geneva |
Nicolas Demey – The Global Fund, Geneva |
