The Obama administration boosted its pledge to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria by 38 percent to $4 billion as it urged the organization to become more efficient. The pledge is the largest ever by a donor to The Global Fund and represents one of the largest increases by an individual donor country.
More than 40 donor countries, private foundations and corporations are looking to replenish The Global Fund's resources for the 2011-2013 period. The U.S.'s contribution brings the total pledge from donor countries to $11.7 billion over three years, according to the fund.
"This is very welcome and sends a strong signal to other donors that the United States is committed to leading a global struggle against infectious diseases," says Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of The Global Fund. "The work of the Global Fund complements the United States' own bilateral efforts. Together, we have begun to drive back AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in many countries, and provided access to AIDS treatment to well over 4 million people."
The U.S. was the first and largest contributor, and its pledge followed increases from France and Japan, as Bloomberg notes. "U.S. funding is a bellwether," Mitchell Warren, executive director of the New York-based AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, tells Bloomberg. "This is an endorsement, showing that there's not a single funding mechanism the U.S. is committed to, but several."
Other contributions to the fund included $1.48 billion from France, $822.4 million from Germany, $800 million from Japan, and $528.4 million from Canada, as Bloomberg notes.
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