AIDS, TB and malaria : emerging countries must contribute to the effort to combat these diseases!

[21 July 2009 - 14h31]
[mis à jour le 26 August 2009 à 10h53]

“All the antiretrovirals – drugs to combat HIV, ed. note – and all the antituberculosis drugs dispensed in China are funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.” To date this international effort has taken the form of “more than 500 million dollars and will soon reach a billion.”

Michel Kazatchkine is executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and he deplores the fact that China, which presents itself as an important partner of Africa and a great builder of infrastructure … in support of its growth, should not contribute to this initiative of which it is a major beneficiary. “We are facing a global epidemic and a global response must be made by a global Fund nourished by global solidarity. No-one can do this on their own”, he explained to one of Destination Santé’s special correspondents at the 5th Conference of the International AIDS Society” (the IAS).

At a time when many voices are speaking out about a funding crisis in the fight against this epidemic, a kind of cultural revolution in the way the Global Fund is financed seems to be needed. However, Michel Kazatchkine reassures us that the continuity of the current investment is not in question. The investment is considerable: 16 billion dollars invested in 140 countries in 6 years: “55% assigned to AIDS, 30% to fight malaria and 15% to fight tuberculosis”. Today, 60% of this money goes to Africa, where needs greatly exceed the level of funding, as 75% of deaths are due to AIDS. However, the negotiations to take place before the next Fund building conference to be held in September 2010, are likely to be complex. “The programmes already under way are not at risk”, he points out. “What is at risk is the means needed to increase our efforts … and that is essential.”

The boss of the Global Fund is able to present a solid record as things stand today. “We support the supply of antiretrovirals to 2.1 million people in developing countries. We have arranged for the distribution of 80 million impregnated mosquito nets – to combat malaria, ed. note – and provided 5 million people with antituberculosis treatment”. But the needs are immense. “I can once again see a deep gap forming between North and South. Science is making progress, diagnostic techniques are improving but needs are increasing too. (…) And the Fund will only be able to solve its problems if Brazil, China, India, Mexico and the Republic of South Africa enter into international solidarity”.

Source : from our special correspondents at the 5th IAS Conference, Cape Town, 19-22 July 2009; interview with Michel Kazatchkine, 20 July 2009; UNAIDS, July 2009.

>> Cet article est aussi disponible en français

>> Cet article est aussi disponible en arabe

© 1996-2012 Destination Santé SAS - All Rights Reserved. No information contained on this server can be reproduced or retransmitted without prior written consent of Destination Santé. Offenders will be prosecuted in consideration of articles L 122-4 and L 335-3 of the Code of Intellectual Property, allowing up to two years' imprisonment and a 150,000 euros fine.