$1.9 billion global diseases fund gets off the ground
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria (GFATM), worth $1.9 billion, is preparing to issue its first call for proposals for projects in countries worst hit by these diseases. It aims to approve the first grants by April, having earmarked funding of up to $700 million in 2002. For WHO director-general Gro Harlem Brundtland, the initiative is a "key step towards a global strategy for investments in health", echoing the organisation's calls for a $66 billion investment in health among developing nations (see Clinica No 994, p 14).