Global Fund Approves $1B in New Grants for Developing Countries

The Board of the Directors of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Monday announced that it has approved 73 new grants worth more than $1.1 billion for programs in developing countries over the next two years, the AFP/Yahoo! Health reports. The Global Fund approved the grants during its 16th board meeting in Kunming, China, a statement said. Forty-eight percent of the total funding goes to HIV/AIDS activities, 42% for malaria and 10% for TB, the fund said. About 62% of malaria grant proposals were approved and 19 countries will receive new packages, according to the fund. The statement also said that 66% of the projects are in Africa, 13% in Asia, 13% in the Middle East and 5% in Latin America (AFP/Yahoo! Health, 11/12). More than 80% of the grants will go to low-income countries.

The Global Fund Board also approved $130 million for the renewal of five grants that are nearing their five-year expiration dates. According to the fund, the seventh round of grants brings the fund's portfolio to $10 billion in 136 countries. About 50% of the proposals submitted for round seven were approved, up from an average of 40% during the previous six rounds. The West Bank and Gaza won approval for the first grant to support an HIV prevention program in the region(Global Fund release, 11/12).

The new grants increased the fund's budget 32% higher than the $846 million initially planned for 2007. The fund has said it needs between $12 billion and $18 billion to pay for existing programs and to launch new ones between 2008 and 2010 (AFP/Yahoo! Health, 11/12).

"Global Fund supported programs are already making an impact against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in many countries around the world," Rajat Gupta, chair of the Global Fund Board, said, adding, "This is the largest funding round in the Global Fund's history. The board is pleased with the strength and high level of ambition of the new grants and is looking forward to scaling up in the fight against the three diseases." Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund, said, "These new grants show that need is increasingly turned into high-quality demand for resources," adding, "This is a trend we must develop further" (Global Fund release, 11/12).

Global Fund Rejects Malaria, TB Proposals From Zimbabwe
The Global Fund denied Zimbabwe's request of $48.5 million for malaria and $25.5 million for TB over five years on the basis of technical weaknesses, Nicolas Demey, a communications officer for the Global Fund, said on Tuesday, VOA News reports. The group has turned down proposals from Zimbabwe in five of seven funding rounds, according to VOA News. The Global Fund has disbursed about $35 million to the country and about $50 million is awaiting disbursement.

Demey said the Global Fund's rejection was not political. He said that Zimbabwe has been encouraged to reapply for the next round of funding, which begins in March 2008 (Mwakalyelye, VOA News, 11/13).