Countries’ Funding Requests in 2008 to Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Three Times Higher Than 2007 Levels

Ninety-seven countries have requested a total of $6.4 billion from the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in its eighth round of funding proposals, the Inter Press Service reports.

At the XVII International AIDS Conference this week in Mexico City, Global Fund Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine called the requests "a historic amount, when compared with recent applications." Nearly half the funding was requested for HIV/AIDS, 30% for malaria and the rest for TB. African countries requested the most funding at approximately $4.2 billion, while Latin American and Caribbean countries applied for $600 million, three times the amount requested in 2007.

According to UNAIDS, developing nations will need $42.2 billion in funding to reach the 2010 goal of universal access to antiretroviral drugs for HIV-positive people. Many countries and several nongovernmental organizations are looking to developed nations for additional funding, especially for HIV/AIDS, according to the Inter Press Service.

Funding sustainability is a "touchy" issue, according to the Inter Press Service. "That's why we say spending must be increased, because the Fund will not be here forever," Kazatchkine said (Godoy, Inter Press Service, 8/5).

Kaisernetwork.org is the official webcaster of the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. Click here to sign up for your Daily Update e-mail during the conference. A webcast of a session on global financing featuring Kazatchkine is available online.