Since its creation in 2002, Global Fund-supported programs are estimated to have averted more than 4 million deaths by providing AIDS treatment for 2.3 million people, antituberculosis treatment for 5.4 million people and by distributing 88 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria worldwide. The Global Fund has so far approved $15.6 billion for more than 900 grants in 140 countries.

Funding the Fight

An estimated $15 billion is needed each year to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria around the world. Today, a quarter of all international funding for HIV/AIDS-related programs, over half for tuberculosis, and almost three-quarters for malaria worldwide comes from The Global Fund. The concept of “performance-based funding” is central to the organization and only those grant recipients who can demonstrate measurable and effective results from the monies received will be able to receive additional financing.

 

As of June 2009, resources from The Global Fund helped achieve these results in treatment, prevention, and care:

• 79 million people received HIV counseling and testing.
• 3.7 million orphans and other children at risk received basic care and support.
• 537,000 HIV-positive pregnant women have received preventive treatment to halt mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV.
• 110 million people received assistance through community outreach services.
• 10 million health or community workers were trained to deliver services for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, or malaria.
• 90 million cases of malaria have been treated according to national treatment guidelines with an increasing use of highly effective artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT).

Driving Change From Within

Partnership is at the heart of the Global Fund model. As it does not have country offices, The Global Fund relies on partners to design, implement and monitor the programs in which it invests. The Global Fund finances organizations and projects worldwide that focus on prevention, treatment, and addressing the extended effects of the diseases. Here are a few examples of projects receiving The Global Fund’s support:

• In Southern Sudan, financial support from The Global Fund enabled the Arkangelo Ali Association to purchase vehicles for each of its eight hospitals in the region, where tuberculosis affects 20,000 people. Hospital workers can now reach nearby airstrips, where critical supplies are flown in from nearby countries, and perform community outreach—previously difficult, if not impossible tasks.
• In Lesotho, The Global Fund finances the UNICEF Childline, a 24-hour hotline that provides free 24-hour phone access to operators trained in social welfare skills. The operators provide a lifeline to the 180,000 orphans in Lesotho, many of whom have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. Childline operators address everything from school concerns to critical or life-threatening incidents. Childline workers also ensure abandoned children and children in abusive situations have a safe place to stay.
• In Nepal, the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division has trained more than 5,200 female community health volunteers to prevent and control the spread of malaria in their communities, especially in at-risk groups such as pregnant women and children under 5 years of age. The volunteers learn how to identify malaria patients and provide them with the appropriate referral services. Volunteers are also taught how to educate others in their community about the disease and how it spreads.

A Continued Commitment to Eradicating Disease

The Global Fund remains committed to achieving its vision: a world free of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The organization’s demand-driven approach ensures that money will continue to go where it is most needed, with priority given to funding programs in countries with low-income populations and a higher rate of disease. The Global Fund is a major investor in health systems. Approximately 35 percent of Global Fund committed funding has been intended to bolster infrastructure, strengthen laboratories, expand the numbers of human resources, augment skills and competencies of health workers, and develop and support monitoring and evaluation systems.

Increased resources available through The Global Fund has enabled a scale-up of HIV treatment programs which means that for the first time we are witnessing a decline in the number of people dying by as much as 40 percent in some African countries such as Malawi.

Increased coverage for TB in several countries such as India, China and Indonesia has led not only to declines in deaths, but has reduced the number of infected people to such a great extent that it has contributed to reduced TB prevalence globally.

In countries where effective malaria prevention and treatment coverage exists, malaria cases and deaths have declined by 50 percent or more. In Rwanda, Zanizibar, Eritrea, Burundi, parts of Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa there is evidence of dramatic reductions in cases of malaria and deaths from the disease.

To learn more about how The Global Fund is supporting projects such as these around the world, visit The Global Fund web site.