Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PRNewswire - December 18, 2006
"As a provider of free AIDS treatment for patients in need around the globe, AIDS Healthcare Foundation protested the management structure of The Global Fund from day one, believing that its dependence on national governments -- often prone to corruption -- ultimately hurts AIDS patients," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "The Global Fund has made a significant impact on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, getting lifesaving medicines to hundreds of thousands of people for whom it was previously out of reach. However, six years after it was created, it's time for the Fund to acknowledge the flaws in its processes that keep the organization from being as effective as possible. The Fund's own Board of Directors instructed the staff to make changes to the Country Coordinating Mechanisms. That request has been ignored. Additionally, the structure of The Global Fund marginalizes Non-Governmental Organizations -- agencies that, in many cases, are responsible for the provision of medical care on the ground and whose participation could help remedy these concerns."
In regards to donor confidence and its effect on the Fund, the Post editorial further states: "Until the fund's leadership question is resolved and until the new leader finds the right balance between hands-off and hands- on, there will also be uncertainty about the fund's finances. Over the past five years, the fund has disbursed just over $3 billion to 136 countries -- a quick start for a new agency. But the fund needs to grow, perhaps providing half of the $8 billion-plus per year that's reckoned to be needed to meet the challenge of these three diseases. Without this sort of boost, there won't be enough money to deploy the medical tools that already exist, let alone to make use of new discoveries such as last week's on circumcision."
Mr. Weinstein added, "The Post editorial got it right: until there are fundamental changes in the structure of the Fund, donor confidence will continue to be undermined and the Fund will not be able to grow to meet the continuing challenges of this epidemic."
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Source: AIDS Healthcare Foundation
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