Germany More Than Doubles Pledge to Global Fund for 2005
Germany in 2005 plans to give the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria more than double the amount it pledged in 2004, fund officials announced on Friday, Agence France-Presse reports. German Minister for Cooperation and Development Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul on Tuesday announced that Germany would give the fund $108 million -- up from its 2004 contribution of about $50 million. Germany's 2005 pledge would make the country the fund's fourth largest donor behind the United States, France and Italy (Agence France-Presse, 12/3). "The German contribution is very timely and most welcome as the board of the Global Fund has just announced a new funding round in 2005 that will help to finance new lifesaving programs in many countries," Dr. Christoph Benn, the fund's director of external relations, said (Global Fund release, 12/3). The fund last month announced that it will begin accepting applications for a fifth round of project grants in March 2005 and will approve grants in September 2005. Although the fund initially wanted to launch its grant cycle for 2005 last month, the 19-member board unanimously voted to delay accepting proposals for five months after officials from the Bush administration proposed a six- to 12-month delay because of funding shortfalls (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 11/19).
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