Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Needs More Money, Opinion Piece States

Although a "handful" of Western governments have pledged a total of $1.5 billion to the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the "current financial commitment is far too little," Eric Goosby, CEO of Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, and Pat Christen, executive director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, write in a San Francisco Chronicle opinion piece. The fund, which last week awarded its first grants to developing nations, will need "at least" an estimated $7 billion to $10 billion annually to "prevent and treat HIV/AIDS on a global scale." Goosby and Christen write that although "[d]eveloping-world nations certainly must do their part ... [s]o, too, must we engage in the global pandemic" in the same way advocates urged community and city government to "do their part" during the "early years of the epidemic in San Francisco." They add, "If we insisted others not turn their backs on us, we cannot now turn our backs on the developing world." Goosby and Christen conclude, "If it so chooses, there is no doubt the Western world can meet this financial and moral obligation. The time is long overdue to face the global devastation of AIDS, particularly in developing nations. The simple truth is their fight is ours. Their world is ours. Their disease is ours. Their future is ours" (Goosby/Christen, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/26).