Global AIDS fund faces serious shortfall

The cash-strapped Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria fell under the spotlight on Wednesday, when ministers from 14 countries met in Paris, France, to address the fund's financial woes.

The fund, which has committed US $1.5 billion to programmes in 92 countries in the last 18 months, faces a lack of money for proposals waiting to be funded in October.

The shortfall is estimated to be at least $500 million for 2003, and a further $3 billion is needed to cover grants through the end of 2004.

The "International Meeting to Support the Global Fund" was attended by ministers and senior officials from donor governments, parliamentarians, corporate representatives, leaders of foundations and NGOs, and representatives of grant recipients.

According to analysts from the Global Fund Observer, an NGO providing analysis and commentary on the fund, the underlying theme of all discussions was "the fact that the fund has not yet been provided by donors with enough money".

Activists and grant recipients were hopeful that the Paris talks would provide new cash for the fund. AIDS lobby groups protested outside the meeting to demand that wealthy countries provide the resources to help buy antiretroviral drugs for developing nations. They chanted slogans and carried 16 body bags, representing the estimated 16,000 people who die each day from AIDS-related complications, TB and malaria, news reports said.

But the conference failed to respond to these demands. Simon Wright, Action Aid's HIV/AIDS campaign manager, told PlusNews the meeting was "nothing but a failure".

"Today should have seen an announcement, for 2004, of $1 billion from Europe and a commitment to raising a further billion from other countries and businesses. Without these assurances, the Global Fund will not be able to finance the proposals it is receiving," he said.

"On their way home from Paris, European politicians should consider why they haven't taken the funding decisions that everyone knows are needed to combat the big killer diseases," Wright added.

Although the United States and the European Commission have both claimed to be outspending each other, as of July, Europe had pledged to give $1,383 million to the fund by 2004, representing 53 percent of all pledges received.

The US had pledged $825 million, representing 32 percent of all pledges received, the Global Fund Observer noted.

US President George Bush's $15 billion pledge to fight HIV/AIDS over five years had also dealt the fund a blow, and activists have accused the US government of "undermining" the fund by not channelling the money through its structures.

With a lack of any large-scale financial commitments coming out of the Paris meeting, the Fund remains seriously under-resourced and concerns are mounting over its sustainability.