Japan’s Increased Global Fund Contribution Boosts U.S. Funding, Editorial Says
Japan's announcement that it will increase its donation to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in 2004 is "important" because "every increase from a donor nation also increases the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund" under current U.S. law, a Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial says (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 1/5). Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in December announced that Japan would increase its 2004 funding to the Global Fund from a planned contribution of $40 million to $100 million. The announcement brings the total Japanese contribution to the fund between 2002 and 2004 to $260 million, with $80 million pledged for 2003. The Global Fund currently has $3 billion in pledges through 2004 and another $1.9 billion pledged for 2005 to 2008. The Global Fund has pledged $2.1 billion over two years to 224 programs to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in more than 120 countries (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/16/03). The editorial says that Japan is "demonstrating that the Global Fund ... is an excellent international vehicle for distributing money to the countries fighting these terrible diseases" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 1/5).
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