Officials Overseeing Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to Hold First Meeting in January
Officials overseeing the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will hold their first meeting Jan. 28 and 29 in Geneva to determine protocols for dispensing the $1.6 billion already pledged to the fund, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports. In a "unique arrangement," the fund's 18-member policy-making board will consist of seven seats each for donor nations and developing countries and two seats each for non-governmental organizations and the private sector. The United States, which has so far pledged $200 million to the fund, will have one seat on the board and a representative is expected to be named "soon," according to an administration official speaking on the condition of anonymity. The official called the committee an "innovative way to assemble resources and get them to the people who need them the most." Dr. Chrispus Kiyonga, the former health minister of Uganda and chair of the 40-member working group that created the fund's structure, said that the fund "is not just about money, it is about partnership ... working together in a new way to achieve lasting results" (AP/Las Vegas Sun, 12/17).
This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.