LONDON, (Reuters) – The world’s largest backer of the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria said yesterday it was cutting new grants for countries battling the diseases and bringing in a new manager to ensure better administration.
The move by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria takes management responsibility away from Michel Kazatchkine, currently executive director, and means the fund will make no new grants or funding until 2014.
Until then, any low and middle-income countries who have Global Fund grants that expire can apply for emergency maintenance funding to tide them over, a spokesman said.
“Substantial budget challenges in some donor countries, compounded by low interest rates, have significantly affected the resources available for new grant funding,” the Global Fund said in a statement after its board met in Accra, Ghana.
“As a result, the Global Fund will only be able to finance essential services for on-going programmes that come to their conclusion before 2014.”
The public-private Global Fund, based in Geneva, accounts for around a quarter of international financing to fight HIV and AIDS, as well as the majority of funds to fight TB and malaria. Founded in 2002, it raises money from donors every three years.
To date, it has committed $22.4 billion in 150 countries to support large-scale prevention, treatment and care programmes against the three diseases. But in recent years it has struggled to persuade international donors to pledge enough money for its work, and has faced accusations of lax regulation of money.
The Fund commissioned a review of its procedures in March after reporting “grave misuse of funds” in four recipient nations, a move that prompted some donors such as Germany and Sweden to freeze their donations.
Among other recommendations, the review committee said the Global Fund should adopt a risk management approach to financing programme which would take proper account of which countries could be most trusted with its money.
