WASHINGTON – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria welcomed the announcement today by the Government of Japan of a contribution of US$800 million over the coming years, underscoring its strong and sustained commitment to the Global Fund.
Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister’s Special Envoy Mr. Seiji Kihara, is making the announcement at the Global Fund 4thReplenishment meeting based on a pledge made public at a joint press conference in Tokyo attended by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and United States Vice President Joe Biden in the evening of December 3rd.
“We congratulate the Government of Japan for further building on its leadership role in the area of global health and its continuous efforts in achieving universal health coverage,” said Dr. Nafsiah Mboi, Chair of the Board of the Global Fund. “The Global Fund is moving towards an increasingly integrated and comprehensive approach under the new funding model with Health System Strengthening as a key component.”
In the eleven years since the creation of the Global Fund, Japan has contributed US$ 1.86 billion to fight the three diseases, and is one of the major donor countries.
“Japan has been a strong contributor and partner of the Global Fund since its inception,” said Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Japan’s role in the fight against the three diseases has been exemplary and we thank the people of Japan for its continuous commitment.”
Meeting in Okinawa in 2000, leaders of the G8 acknowledged the need for a “war-chest” to resource the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria. With this call to action, the idea of forming a Global Fund was initiated. Since then, and with the formal inception of the Fund in 2002, Japan and the Global Fund have been close partners working towards shared goals.
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About the Global Fund
The Global Fund is an international financing institution dedicated to attracting and disbursing resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria. The Global Fund promotes partnerships between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities, the most effective way to help reach those in need. This innovative approach relies on country ownership and performance-based funding, meaning that people in countries implement their own programs based on their priorities and the Global Fund provides financing where verifiable results are achieved.
Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has supported more than 1,000 programs in more than 140 countries, providing AIDS treatment for 6.1 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 11.2 million people and 360 million insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts in dealing with the three diseases.
