Global Fund gets $900M from USA; Islamic Development Bank link up over malaria

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has welcomed the announcement by the US government that it will contribute $900.0 million  for 2009. It is the largest contribution ever made by any country to  the Global Fund since its inception in 2002, $60.0 million above the US  grant for the previous year, bringing the country's total financing for  the agency to over $4.4 billion.

The Global Fund has received contributions from 50 donor countries to  date, in addition to a number of private foundations, corporations and  individuals. Michel Kazatchkine, the Fund's executive director, said:  "it underscores the need to maintain the progress and continue to invest  in people's health globally."

At the end of 2008, Global Fund-supported programs are claimed to have  "averted more than 3.5 million deaths by providing AIDS treatment for  two million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 4.6 million people  and by distributing 70 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the  prevention of malaria worldwide." The Fund has so far approved schemes  in 140 countries worth $15.0 billion.