In the strategy document adopted by the Board of the Global Fund late last year, several strategic goals are listed, as well as a couple of “strategic enablers” down at the bottom of the list. One of these enablers is “to enhance partnership to deliver results.” The new leadership of the Global Fund decided that a truly constructive way to engage with partners would be to set up three “disease committees” – one for HIV and AIDS, one for tuberculosis and one for malaria. After considerable planning, the Global Fund Committee on HIV and AIDS convened its first meeting on Monday, 18 June 2012. It was attended by a broad array of partners and by the entire Management Executive Committee of the Global Fund. Debrework Zewdie, Deputy Executive Director of the Global Fund, convened the meeting by citing an operating principle: If you are in a war, it’s a good idea to check with your allies once a month to compare progress. “This is not a technical committee,” said Dr. Zewdie. “This is a committee to advise the Global Fund on how the war is going.” A similar committee on tuberculosis met on 11 June.
Some committee members have objected to the military analogy. In answering them, Gabriel Jaramillo, General Manager of the Global Fund, pointed to the word “fight” in the name of the organization. Craig McClure, chief of the HIV/AIDS section at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), commented, “I don’t like wars either, but I feel like I’ve been fighting one for the past 25 years. It could be coming to an end, if we really focus our efforts.” Eliminating mother-to-child transmission, reducing new infections by half, and securing universal access to treatment are three critical goals. Dr. Bernhard Schwartländer, Director for Evidence, Strategy and Results at UNAIDS, gave an authoritative overview of dramatic progress and serious challenges in AIDS prevention and treatment worldwide, prompting a spirited discussion about the numerous areas the committee can explore in coming months, such as cost of treatment, unit costs, drug optimization, inclusion of communities and a new investment framework.
