Post by earl on Apr 7, 2008 18:36:26 GMT
Emaciated bodies and forlorn faces are the images most closely associated with Aids victims in developing countries.
But the efforts made to tackle the pandemic are not highlighted enough, according to Professor Michel Kazatchkine, director of the Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and malaria.
Kazatchkine, a leading physician and French diplomat, was in Dublin last Wednesday to receive a donation of €90 million to the fund from Irish Aid. The sum will be used in some of the 550 programmes in 137 countries, supported by the organisation.
Irish Aid is the government’s programme of assistance to developing countries. It has committed over €900 million in funding to a range of humanitarian organisations this year.
The Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and malaria was set up in 2002; it aims to get large donations from the political and private sectors.
‘‘It is estimated that through the programmes we support, at least 3,000 lives per day are saved,” Kazatchkine told The Sunday Business Post.
The organisation has received firm pledges of $9.7 billion (€6 billion) and rising for 2008-2010.Applications for the funding from bodies including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will be considered in July by an independent panel of experts.
Accepted applicants are granted between $20 million and $30 million each, with 55 per cent going to Aids programmes, 35 per cent to malaria programmes and 10 per cent to TB programmes.
The RED initiative, created by U2 frontman Bono and TV producer Bobby Shriver, is an ‘‘economic brand initiative’’ that delivers a sustainable flow of private sector money to the fund. High-profile companies such as American Express, Gap, Motorola, Apple, Dell, Armani and Converse all contribute a percentage of sales from their RED line products to the fund.
Kazatchkine recently joined Bono at an art auction in New York which generated $42.5 million for the fund in an hour and a half. The fund also has private foundations and private sector partners, such as Chevron, which recently donated $30 million to it.
A qualified French immunologist described the work of the Global Fund as ‘‘evidence-based hope’’.
He said the estimation of saving 3,000 lives per day was based on the treatment of 100,000 people per month.
‘‘The majority of funds donated to us by Ireland would go to sub-Saharan Africa, where 65 per cent of the fund’s monies are directed. There has been a resurgence of TB in some African countries because of the Aids epidemic. TB-HIV co-infection is a major cause of morbidity because of immune deficiency. We are now very concerned about the spread of multi-resistant TB, which cannot be treated with drugs,” he said.
As a direct result of increased funding, there has been a drop of between 40 and 90 per cent in the number of children under five in Africa who die from malaria. Some of these measures can be as simple as providing mosquito nets for beds. In Malawi, where other Irish Aid programmes are funded, tens of thousands more lives are being saved because healthcare workers with Aids are being treated, instead of leaving the country to seek help.
However, Aids or TB pandemics are not exclusive to Africa. The second-largest number of people being treated for Aids under Global Fund programmes are in Thailand. India has also received grants of almost $500 million.
An outbreak of Aids among intravenous drug-users in Russia has caused almost 1 per cent of the population to become infected. The stigma attached to it resulted in treatment not being available until 2003.
Kazatchkine is happy with the €90 million donation he has received from Ireland; he is going to ask that the country be represented on the high-level UN assembly on Aids.
‘‘Ireland has always been strongly committed in this area, and is very clear on the link between health and development,” he said.
‘‘I want them to join in the international advocacy effort. Ireland currently donates 2.46 per cent of Overseas Development Aid (ODA) to the Global Fund. We would request countries to donate 3 per cent, so that is very high.
‘‘Ireland donates 0.47 per cent of GDP to development aid, and has committed to increase that to 0.7 by 2012.Other European countries have agreed to reach a target of 0.56 by 2012, so again Ireland has showed generosity and commitment to this cause,” Kazatchkine said.
The Frenchman is not concerned that the current global economic downturn will lead to a cut in donations for the fund, but he is concerned about competing with other global issues. Worldwide issues such as climate change, terrorism and the decline of agricultural production, may make campaigning for donations more difficult, according to Kazatchkine.
‘‘The UN is talking about setting up a global fund for the environment and for agriculture,” he said.
‘‘Then you have the terrorist threat or the possibility of other epidemics emerging. We all have to come together to tackle these problems because there will be no economic or social development where a population’s health is under threat.
‘‘Supporting countries with epidemics such as Aids is not a humanitarian cause - it is for their development as a nation. In five years, we have shown the results and impacts that can be made. Let’s now broaden that funding to support systems,” he said.
But the efforts made to tackle the pandemic are not highlighted enough, according to Professor Michel Kazatchkine, director of the Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and malaria.
Kazatchkine, a leading physician and French diplomat, was in Dublin last Wednesday to receive a donation of €90 million to the fund from Irish Aid. The sum will be used in some of the 550 programmes in 137 countries, supported by the organisation.
Irish Aid is the government’s programme of assistance to developing countries. It has committed over €900 million in funding to a range of humanitarian organisations this year.
The Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and malaria was set up in 2002; it aims to get large donations from the political and private sectors.
‘‘It is estimated that through the programmes we support, at least 3,000 lives per day are saved,” Kazatchkine told The Sunday Business Post.
The organisation has received firm pledges of $9.7 billion (€6 billion) and rising for 2008-2010.Applications for the funding from bodies including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will be considered in July by an independent panel of experts.
Accepted applicants are granted between $20 million and $30 million each, with 55 per cent going to Aids programmes, 35 per cent to malaria programmes and 10 per cent to TB programmes.
The RED initiative, created by U2 frontman Bono and TV producer Bobby Shriver, is an ‘‘economic brand initiative’’ that delivers a sustainable flow of private sector money to the fund. High-profile companies such as American Express, Gap, Motorola, Apple, Dell, Armani and Converse all contribute a percentage of sales from their RED line products to the fund.
Kazatchkine recently joined Bono at an art auction in New York which generated $42.5 million for the fund in an hour and a half. The fund also has private foundations and private sector partners, such as Chevron, which recently donated $30 million to it.
A qualified French immunologist described the work of the Global Fund as ‘‘evidence-based hope’’.
He said the estimation of saving 3,000 lives per day was based on the treatment of 100,000 people per month.
‘‘The majority of funds donated to us by Ireland would go to sub-Saharan Africa, where 65 per cent of the fund’s monies are directed. There has been a resurgence of TB in some African countries because of the Aids epidemic. TB-HIV co-infection is a major cause of morbidity because of immune deficiency. We are now very concerned about the spread of multi-resistant TB, which cannot be treated with drugs,” he said.
As a direct result of increased funding, there has been a drop of between 40 and 90 per cent in the number of children under five in Africa who die from malaria. Some of these measures can be as simple as providing mosquito nets for beds. In Malawi, where other Irish Aid programmes are funded, tens of thousands more lives are being saved because healthcare workers with Aids are being treated, instead of leaving the country to seek help.
However, Aids or TB pandemics are not exclusive to Africa. The second-largest number of people being treated for Aids under Global Fund programmes are in Thailand. India has also received grants of almost $500 million.
An outbreak of Aids among intravenous drug-users in Russia has caused almost 1 per cent of the population to become infected. The stigma attached to it resulted in treatment not being available until 2003.
Kazatchkine is happy with the €90 million donation he has received from Ireland; he is going to ask that the country be represented on the high-level UN assembly on Aids.
‘‘Ireland has always been strongly committed in this area, and is very clear on the link between health and development,” he said.
‘‘I want them to join in the international advocacy effort. Ireland currently donates 2.46 per cent of Overseas Development Aid (ODA) to the Global Fund. We would request countries to donate 3 per cent, so that is very high.
‘‘Ireland donates 0.47 per cent of GDP to development aid, and has committed to increase that to 0.7 by 2012.Other European countries have agreed to reach a target of 0.56 by 2012, so again Ireland has showed generosity and commitment to this cause,” Kazatchkine said.
The Frenchman is not concerned that the current global economic downturn will lead to a cut in donations for the fund, but he is concerned about competing with other global issues. Worldwide issues such as climate change, terrorism and the decline of agricultural production, may make campaigning for donations more difficult, according to Kazatchkine.
‘‘The UN is talking about setting up a global fund for the environment and for agriculture,” he said.
‘‘Then you have the terrorist threat or the possibility of other epidemics emerging. We all have to come together to tackle these problems because there will be no economic or social development where a population’s health is under threat.
‘‘Supporting countries with epidemics such as Aids is not a humanitarian cause - it is for their development as a nation. In five years, we have shown the results and impacts that can be made. Let’s now broaden that funding to support systems,” he said.
