Health GAP Press Statement
www.globaltreatmentaccess.org | www.healthgap.org

(Evian, June 2, 2003) French President Chirac yesterday pledged a US $150 million contribution to the nearly-bankrupt Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. $150 million from France is included in what Chirac indicated would be $1 billion coming from member states of the European Union allocated for the Global Fund in 2004.

Activists welcome the leveraging of contributions among donor countries that was triggered by BushÕs Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003, but warn of the danger of using BushÕs US $3 billion funding ceiling for year 2004 instead of the Global FundÕs floor of US $4.7 billion by 2004.

"It's not time to pop the champagne in France -- the G7 is still intent on undercutting the Global Fund's financial needs," said Health GAP's Paul Davis. "The Global Fund needs at least US $4.7 billion to stay afloat between now and the end of 2004. Even if non-US, non EU donors are able to muster an additional billion _and_ President Bush comes through with $1 billion, the Global Fund is still at least $1.7 billion in the hole. Donors must pay what it takes to avert the financial collapse of the Global Fund before the end of the year."

Activists contend the Global Fund is the best financing mechanism for fighting AIDS and bridging the deadly gap in access to life-sustaining AIDS medicines that accounts for 8,200 deaths each day. The Global Fund, unlike bilateral programs, is based on needs of countries to scale up antiretroviral therapy to people living with HIV/AIDS and is dedicated to the procurement of the lowest cost quality medicines, including generics. ÒThe Global Fund represents the best hope for scaling up treatment for the 6 million people with HIV facing death without access to affordable medicines,Ó said Sharonann Lynch of Health GAP.

AIDS activists in France including ACT UP Paris have waged a campaign to pressure Chirac to pledge at least $500 million to the Global Fund. At the Genoa Summit in Genoa in 2001, French President Chirac told fellow heads of state that the Fund is "rapidly going to reach much higher levels since it is expected to reach within a reasonable time the critical mass of 10 billion dollars."

"Chirac has indicted himself with his weak pledge," stated Asia Russell of Health GAP. "The stingy G7 want an ad hoc, unsustainable mechanism that is driven by how much fickle donors decide they want to give, not by how much the Global Fund actually needs. We demand the donors fully fund the fund at the $4.7 billion that is the minimum needed between now and 2004."

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