Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Wall Street Journal - December 2, 2002
David Bank, Staff Reporter
Such accountability was put to the test last month, when the fund held up a two-year, $12 million grant for an innovative malaria-prevention program in Tanzania after that country's finance ministry made a last-minute demand that the funds be deposited in the ministry's account, rather than that of the health program itself.
After fund officials rejected the revised terms because of the potential for corruption and delays, the ministry relented and an agreement was signed in Dar es Salaam during the weekend.
"One of the things that distinguishes the Global Fund is that it's not business as usual," said Richard Feachem, the fund's executive director. "We pulled back and they sorted things out. We're delighted it's now moving ahead."
The Global Fund, based in Geneva, was established early this year as an independent body by the world's industrial nations. AIDS is fast becoming the worst health disaster in human history, with an estimated 42 million people infected. In 2010, according to a recent CIA report, there are likely to be 50 million to 75 million people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, in just five high-risk countries -- India, China, Russia, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
Dr. Feachem has been on a world-wide fund-raising tour in conjunction with World AIDS Day, Sunday. This week, he is in Washington to meet with Secretary of State Colin Powell and other administration and congressional leaders. He will speak to a gathering of all foreign ambassadors tomorrow. The fund has issued a call for an additional $2 billion for next year and $4.6 billion for 2004. Dr. Feachem said "a reasonable contribution" from the U.S. during that period might be $2.5 billion to $3 billion.
"We are looking for a greatly increased contribution from the U.S., alongside others," Dr. Feachem said. The U.S., the fund's largest donor, has so far pledged a total of $500 million.
The recently issued checks are part of a first round of 37 projects approved in April. A second round to be approved in January will effectively exhaust the fund's current resources.
The first slate of projects is intended to demonstrate the fund's ability to work with private organizations as well as governments. The program in Tanzania aims to stimulate private investment by providing pregnant women with vouchers to purchase bed nets for protection from the mosquitoes that spread malaria. In Haiti, the fund is backing nongovernmental organizations to distribute condoms, treat sexually transmitted diseases and provide anti-retroviral drugs to the sickest patients. In Ghana, two programs totaling $6.5 million over two years will build AIDS counseling and testing centers, provide drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of AIDS and treat an additional 20,000 patients for tuberculosis.
Compliance with the grant agreements is to be audited by KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Write to David Bank at david.bank@wsj.com
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