§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) if she will list the sources of money allocated to the Global Health Fund; and if she will make a statement; [103107]
(2) what discussions her Department has had with other international donors regarding the shortfall of the $10 billion a year required by the Global Health Fund; and if she will make a statement. [103108]
§ Clare ShortThe primary role of the fund is to provide drugs and commodities for the prevention and treatment of AIDS, TB and Malaria. DFID have pledged $200 million over five years to the fund, $80 million of which has been disbursed. In addition DFID have committed over £1.5 billion since 1997 to support the development of health systems in poorer countries. Strengthening such systems is vital if drugs are to be safely and sustainably supplied to the poor. Wherever possible the Global Fund should be providing support behind strategies that help deliver sustainable improvements in health care. The fund has strong founding principles in this regard, but performance to date in this regard has been mixed. Our future support for the Global Fund will depend on its effectiveness. It is one of several possible instruments designed to improve basic health care in poor countries.
477WSources of money allocated to the Global Fund can be found on its website: www.globalfundatm.org/contribute.html
My Department is in frequent contact with other international donors and has repeatedly stressed the need for others to make multi year funding pledges to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria as DFID has done.
The figure of US $7–10 billion per annum is a UNAIDS estimate of the total additional resources required to tackle HIV/AIDS. As Kofi Annan has made clear it is not a target for the fund.