Money From Bush’s $1.2B Malaria Initiative Should Go To Global Fund, Editorial Says

Funds from President Bush's five-year, $1.2 billion initiative to fight malaria should be funneled through the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which "could really use" the money, a Los Angeles Times editorial says (Los Angeles Times, 11/13). Prior to this year's Group of Eight Summit in July, Bush announced a $1.7 billion aid package for Africa aimed at fighting malaria and improving education and women's rights on the continent. The majority of the total proposed aid will be used to reduce by half the number of malaria-related deaths in 15 African countries (GlobalHealthReporting.org, 7/1). The initiative "sounds good on paper," but it will be administered by USAID, which is known for having a "lack of transparency" and "cozy relationships with contractors," the Times says. On the other hand, the Global Fund's spending records are "thorough and easy to access," and the money it will have available to fight malaria worldwide for the next couple of years "won't come close to the amount needed," according to the Times. The fight against malaria is "[n]ot cheap by any means," but it is "far from impossible for a world motivated to stem the problem," the Times says, concluding, "Given the economic and human devastation wrought by malaria, effectively fighting it would be well worth the multibillion-dollar price tag" (Los Angeles Times, 11/13).