The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, was established in 2002 under the leadership of Mr Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary General, who had called on world leaders to support the setup of a global fund to fight the three major killers diseases on the globe. Ten years after its inception, the Global Fund today remains the largest institution in the world supporting the fight against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in over 150 countries.
The Global Fund since inception had set out to address the pandemics of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria through innovative and performance-based financing. Thanks to the Global Fund, today, 3.3 million people across the globe are on free anti-retroviral treatment, 8.6 million cases of tuberculosis have been detected and are being treated, while 230 million insecticide-treated nets have been distributed to protect families from transmission of the malaria parasite.
In the last decade, Africa has been privileged to receive over 70 percent of the Global Fund’s funding, while Nigeria has received funding for AIDS, TB and Malaria to the tune of $800 million. As a result, 360,000 people are currently receiving ARVs across the country, 150,000 new smear-positive TB cases detected and treated and 37,000,000 insecticide treated nets have been distributed to families across the country.
As the Global Fund turns 10 on January 26 2012, Nigerian families should join in the celebration of this innovative initiative that has saved the lives of millions here in Nigeria and across the Globe. We must not forget how much it cost us to access ARVs before the advent of the Global Fund. Back in the days, persons living with HIV were left with a heavy financial burden as a result of the cost of accessing ARV treatment. But thanks to the Global Fund, today persons living with HIV only need to register at specific HCT (HIV/AIDS Counselling and Testing) centres to receive free treatments as and when due. As we celebrate the 10th year anniversary of the Global Fund, we are also happy to celebrate the lives of Nigerian who have lived with the disease for over 10 years and beyond.
Much of the Global Fund’s success could be attributed to its performance based financing mechanism which creates room for transparency in the purchase, distribution and administration of drugs for these three diseases. The Country Coordinating Mechanism which oversees each country’s grant administration and management is made up of members from the government, civil society, private sector, Network of People Living with HIV, International and multi-lateral organisations and faith-based organisation. Grant applications for each country must be approved and recommended by the CCM. Also, the performance-based funding mechanism ensures that grant recipient show verified evidence of performance before receiving the next tranche of funding, thus ensuring transparency and implementation of the grant according to the plan.
The Global Fund works with a variety of partners across the globe which include governments, civil society, multi-lateral organisations, international organisations, foundations, the private sector etc. These partners have assisted the Global Fund in the last 10 years to raise over $21 billion to support HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria programmes in over 150 countries across the world.
As we celebrate the Global Fund’s achievement, we must not forget that there is much to be done to eliminate these diseases. We must step up the fight to get more resources committed, while ensuring transparency and efficiency of the grants at each level of administration. As we look into the future, we see a more successful Global Fund, rising to the funding challenges it currently faces.
