In regions of the world where the health system is not accessible to all, carrying out major prevention campaigns and distributing the right drugs is necessary to roll back pandemic diseases such as tuberculosis, which continues to kill 1.6 million people. people every year. However, these operations require money, a lot of money …
A global organization
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invited a dozen heads of state, representatives of several donor countries and the United Nations Secretary General to meet this Friday, September 16 in Montreal, during the fifth replenishment conference of the Global Fund, in order to effectively cover the fight against pandemics (AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria) from 2017 to 2019. For this period, the amount needed is estimated at 13 billion dollars. The goal is to eradicate the deadliest diseases within fifteen years. An objective supported by a lasting financial commitment from the largest countries in the world (including the United States, France, and Japan).
Created in 2002, the Global Fund brings together partners from all categories: governments, private foundations, associations, companies and individuals. Thanks to the 30 billion US dollars already disbursed, this organization already claims 22 million lives saved and more than 300 million infections avoided since 2005.
Nearly 90% of donors have already announced their intentions to reach the 13 billion requested by the Fund. “We are approaching” told AFP, Seth Faison, his spokesperson.
Two-sided transparency
Transparency is at the heart of the actions of the Global Fund. In fact, to benefit from its aid, the government of a country must cooperate with local associations and representatives of populations affected by the disease. This practice also makes it possible to fight against the embezzlement of money in certain States since the payment of the subsidies can be observed by all the partners of the program.
A well-established mechanism that also helps to promote the political situation in countries where infectious diseases already greatly weaken the population. In addition, two out of three beneficiary countries are in Africa and more than half of antiviral treatments for AIDS are paid for by the Global Fund, hence the importance of rigorous management to get drugs to their destination. .
“There is a responsibility, on behalf of the host government – and, indeed, for all governments that pledge money to the Global Fund – to take additional steps to ensure that their money goes as far as possible and May it save as many lives as possible, “reaffirms Richard Elliott, director of the Canadian HIV / AIDS Legal Network.
Pharmaceuticals urged to collaborate
Many organizations involved in the fight against HIV have once again expressed their need to work with large pharmaceutical companies to make medicines, protected by patents, more accessible.
“We support generic companies and we support manufacturers of original drugs. We need everyone’s support to achieve our goal,” Seth Faison said before the conference opened.
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