U.S. Pledge to Global Fund Fails to Leverage Donor Nations

AIDS Treatment for Millions to be Decided by Congress

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Obama Administration's expected $4 billion, 3-year pledge tomorrow to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria would leave global health at a perilous crossroads: The pledge represents a modest increase, but one that would leave millions of sick and vulnerable people without prevention and treatment services, warns the Global AIDS Alliance.

However, the U.S. pledge for 2011-2013, at the United Nations tomorrow, should be increased by Congress. There are two avenues:

1. The U.S. pledge is expected to be a floor, not a ceiling. U.S. funding then would be based on changes by the Global Fund to improve how funds are handled and distributed, ironic given that the Global Fund has proven much more cost-effective than U.S. bilateral funding, with 95% of its funds going to actual programming versus only about a third of U.S. bilateral funds – the rest is spent on contractor overhead and technical assistance. Nevertheless, the Global Fund board, secretariat and stakeholders already have committed to important reforms that will make the grant process more efficient and effective.
2. The U.S. is expected to make its first multi-year pledge to the Global Fund. This would help sustain programs, aiding the commitments of other nations that budget on a multi-year basis. The decision comes after 101 members of Congress – led by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) – petitioned President Obama to make a 3-year pledge, albeit for $6 billion.

The Administration previously proposed to Congress a decrease in Global Fund spending to $1 billion for FY2011, from $1.05 billion approved in FY2010. "Now, the Obama Administration is offering a cautious course correction," says Dr. Paul Zeitz, executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance. "But the pledge itself is small-minded. It is insufficient based on projected needs and fails to leverage the commitments of other nations."

By contrast, President Bush used the U.S. pledge to double or triple contributions from other countries, Zeitz says. Under U.S. law, the American pledge must be no more than one-third of the total Global Fund contribution. As a result, the U.S. has been able to leverage $2 for every $1 it donates. This has helped nurture the Global Fund into the most effective international organization in facilitating the U.N.'s health-related Millennium Development Goals. This has helped slash new HIV infections by 17% and saved up to 6 million lives.

"Just when the world recommitted two weeks ago to meeting the Millennium Development Goals – where President Obama outlined a bold global development initiative – the Administration is off track on the Global Fund," Zeitz says. "But Congress still has a chance to review the Administration's approach and increase U.S. funding," Zeitz says. "We recognize this is a time of economic austerity, which has affected the Administration's pledge. But millions of lives and a generation of progress hang in the balance."

SOURCE Global AIDS Alliance