Global Fund Receives USD 1.65B From US Congress; Names New Board Leadership

By Kelly Burke for Intellectual Property Watch

The United States Congress on 21 March approved US$ 1.65 billion in aid and support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and US$ 4.07 billion for the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The Global Fund also announced a new Board chair and vice-chair.

The appropriations were included in a continuing resolution Congress passed to keep the government running until end of the fiscal year on 30 September.

The support was announced in a press release by the Global Fund, which recently installed a US official, Mark Dybul, as its executive director. The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature.

The US is the Global Fund’s largest donor, according to the release. The Fund was facing a substantial funding gap this year.

The Global Fund and World Health Organization recently called for donor funding to address the growing threat of multidrug resistance tuberculosis (IPW, Public Health, 18 March 2013).

Meanwhile, the Board of the Global Fund last week selected Dr. Nafsiah Mboi of Indonesia to be its next Board chair and Mireille Guigaz of France as its next Board vice-chair. Mboi and Guigaz will begin a two-year term in late June 2013, according to a statement.

Mboi is the Indonesian minister of health and previously served as the secretary of Indonesia’s National AIDS Commission. Guigaz most recently served as France’s ambassador for the fight against HIV/AIDS, representing France on the Board of the Global Fund.