Press
Release
25
April 2002
French
FUND TO FIGHT
AIDS, TUBERCULOSIS AND MALARIA ANNOUNCES FIRST GRANTS
Commits Up to $616 Million Over
Two Years for Prevention and Treatment
Calls for Additional Resources to
Address World’s Deadliest Epidemics
The new 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 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
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
Fund’s Board and Minister without Portfolio of the government
of Uganda. “The 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 Fund Board member representing people living with or affected
by one of the three diseases. “The 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 Fund over five years.
All eligible proposals were thoroughly
evaluated by the 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 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 Fund would fill funding gaps and
achieve results,” added Dr. Nordström.
The 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 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 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 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.
Fund officials also announced the
appointment of Professor Richard Feachem as Executive Director
of the Fund.
Dr. Feachem, a British national,
is currently Founding Director of the Institute for
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
Fund Board member. “We are very pleased about his selection
as the Fund’s Executive Director.”
”It is a great honor for me to have
the opportunity to work for the 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 Fund’s Interim Executive
Director.
About the Fund
AIDS, TB and malaria have a devastating
global impact, causing nearly six million deaths a year
– 10% of the world’s total. The 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 17 22
