§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the UK Government will contribute to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria in(a) 2004 and (b) 2005. [164928]
Gareth ThomasFor the financial year 2004–5, DFID's contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) will be £30 million. This will be paid in May. In 2004–6 DFID has pledged £33 million.
The GFATM is one of a number of instruments used to tackle these terrible diseases of poverty. Most of DFID's HIV/AIDS spending, of which the UKU is the second biggest bilateral donor, goes direct to developing countries through Government, NGOs or the private sector. Last year DFID invested over £270 million on HIV/AIDS related bilateral work and have contributed £48 million to Roll Back Malaria and invested £2 million to the Stop TB Partnership, DFID has committed over £1.5 billion since 1997 to support the strength of health systems to help deal with these diseases in developing countries.