Health Fund Falls Well Short of Pledge Goal
14 October 2007
Health Fund Falls Well Short of Pledge Goal
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
NEW YORK TIMES
Published: September 28, 2007
Donors pledged $9.7 billion yesterday to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria at a fund-raising conference in Berlin - an
increase over previous donations, but well short of the $15 billion to
$18 billion the fund had hoped to raise.
Kofi Annan the former United Nations secretary general, who led the creation
of the multilateral fund in 2002, said he was "very pleased with the pledges made.
" Some outside campaigners, however, expressed disappointment.
"Today's pledges are welcome, but more needs to be mobilized," said
ActionAid, a coalition of groups pushing for more health care for poor
countries. It applauded the size of gifts from Spain ($600 million),
Norway ($205 million), Sweden ($281 million) and the Netherlands ($326
million), while saying the largest donors, including Germany ($849
million), France ($1.3 billion) and Britain ($729 million), could have
done more, given the strength of their economies.
The donations - meant to be spent over the next three years - do not
include new pledges by the United States or Japan.
The United States committed only to maintain its annual contribution
level, which would add up to $2.2 billion over the three years, until
Congress passes a new budget. Japan wants to announce its contribution
when it plays host to the Group of 8
summit meeting next year; if it stayed level, it would be $184 million.
Other big donors included the European Commission
which pledged $425 million, and the Gates Foundation, which pledged $300
million.
The fund, which has spent about $7 billion in 136 countries since 2002,
is the chief source of money for the fight against the three diseases.
It says it has saved two million lives so far, largely through the
distribution of mosquito nets and the provision of anti-AIDS
drugs.
To hope to bring the diseases under control, the fund calculates that it
will need to be spending $8 billion a year by 2010.
The next biggest sources of funds are two separate programs established
by the Bush administration to fight AIDS and malaria
