AFEW signs open letter to the Dutch government asking to support GFATM
Date: 17.06.05
AFEW signed an open letter to the Dutch Minister of Development and Cooperation in which the Dutch organisation ‘Stop AIDS Now!’ asks the minister to take a leading role in the replenishment process for the GFATM by giving a substantial contribution from the Dutch government to the Global Fund for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007.
To the Minister for Development Co-operation
Theme: Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM)
Dear Ms. Van Ardenne,
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) over the short duration of its existence has made a substantial contribution to the prevention of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the world. Alongside other bilateral and multilateral financing organisations and mechanisms and the President’s Plan for Emergency AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), it plays an important role in the fight against the spread of these diseases. A significant improvement in the Global Fund’s effectiveness should be recognised. The distribution of funds takes place much quicker, and greater attention is paid to monitoring and evaluation in the course of collaboration with the recipients of the funds.
It is becoming ever more apparent that the innovative character of the Global Fund and its work through the Country Co-ordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) bears fruit. The CCMs facilitate collaboration between representatives of authorities, commercial structures and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). NGOs are now taking an active part in the fight against AIDS, and their capacity is used more effectively. Constant work is being carried out to review and improve the criteria for the CCMs. This has shown that best results are usually achieved when NGOs are the direct recipients of funding.
On 30 May 2005, as part of the ‘Stop AIDS Now!’ initiative, in collaboration with your ministry and Share-Net, a meeting was held for representatives of Dutch NGOs involved in the global fight against AIDS. In the course of the meeting we had the opportunity to exchange opinions with representatives of the Global Fund and assess practical experience. We are glad to report that in recent rounds the Global Fund has devoted greater attention to the work of Health Systems and there are now opportunities to apply for funding from the Global Fund for Sexual and Reproductive Health programmes as part of worldwide efforts to control AIDS. In conclusion, we have familiarised ourselves with the process of replenishing Global Fund finances, the results of which will be discussed in September at the ministerial conference.
The fact that funding guarantees are becoming less and less reliable, as much in the short-term as in the long-term, has provoked our deep concern. After a successful start and the rapid development of its operations, a serious problem suddenly arose: how to convince donors of the necessity of considerable funding replenishment. This year already, the Global Fund will incur a deficit to the tune of USD 700 million.
Under your leadership, the Netherlands over past years has proved itself a critical, but reliable donor of the Global Fund. Your action has demonstrated that the fight against AIDS is high on the country’s agenda. Further evidence of this is your decision to double the budget for tackling AIDS. In our opinion, the current funding deficit within the Global Fund threatens further support of efforts to counter these three destructive diseases, which is a serious obstacle for the successful implementation of the ‘Millennium Development Goals’. In this respect, the obligations of the international community in relation to these diseases and trust in the Global Fund as a financial instrument have become a subject of debate.
In light of the abovementioned, we strongly ask you to take a leading role in the process of replenishing the Global Fund’s financial support and to provide all possible assistance in obtaining funding from the Dutch budget in the form of payments over 2005, 2006 and 2007. A payment for 2005 would mean allocating additional financial support from the Netherlands, which would attract international attention to the needs of the Global Fund and emphasise the importance and urgency of measures, undertaken by the Fund.