Global Fund's $15bn must buy results rather than rhetoric

published on September 27, 2013 in The Guardian

The Global Fund is an effective fundraiser, but lives saved are the true measure of its success in tackling Aids, TB and malaria

This week, news broke that the UK had pledged up to £1bn to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This pledge is part of the fund's campaign to raise $15bn (£9.3bn) over the next three years.

Early indications from major donors are strong. The UK joins the US, which has signalled it may pledge up to $5bn; France has committed $1.4bn, and the Nordic countries have committed $750m. A robust advocacy base – complete with celebrities and heads of state – has mobilised to make it likely that the Global Fund will achieve its request in full.

The organisation, one of the largest funders of worldwide health programmes, is a critical player in the fight against Aids, a sustainable response to which will undoubtedly require greater investment.

But there is something far more valuable than $15bn alone – results.

The Global Fund's advocacy efforts claim impressive gains – 5.3 million people on antiretroviral therapy under its programmes, 30m bednets distributed, and 1.3m cases of TB detected and treated in the first half of 2013. But is this the same as 5.3 million lives saved, 30m cases of malaria prevented, and 1.3 million survivors of TB? No.

Amanda Glassman
The Guardian
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Global Fund's $15bn must buy results rather than rhetoric

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