US$ 130 Million to fight HIV/AIDS & Tb in India

[Guest guest]

GLOBAL FUND AWARDS US$ 130 MILLION TO FIGHT HIV / AIDS AND TUBERCULOSIS

IN INDIA

Friday, January 31, 2003, Geneva, Switzerland - The fourth Board Meeting

of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, concluded in

Geneva on 31 January 2003, approved US$ 130 million to fight HIV/AIDS

and tuberculosis in India. The grant assigns US$ 100 million for

HIV/AIDS, and US$ 30 million for Tuberculosis, and commits up to US$

38.8 million over the first two years. This is the largest single

country grant within Asia, in this Second Round of Global Fund Awards.

Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund said, " Critical

to any global effort to fight AIDS is preventing the Indian epidemic

from exploding, which will otherwise occur over the course of this

decade. " Feachem will visit several states in India in March to support

India's efforts to mobilize a broad, public-private response to AIDS,

tuberculosis and malaria.

The Global Fund also signed an agreement to fund a previously approved

(April, 2002) tuberculosis program proposal in India, for US$ 5.7

million over the first two years of a three-year project (for US$ 8.6

million). This program expands the ongoing Revised National

Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP) to cover 56 million people in all

47 districts of the three newly-created States of Chhattisgarh,

Jharkhand and Uttaranchal, and also provides some funding to a

non-government organization (NGO) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Meenakshi Datta Ghosh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare, said, " The grant for HIV/AIDS will rapidly expand and

enhance the quality of interventions for prevention of mother to child

transmission, implement a comprehensive care package for HIV-infected

mothers, their infants and partners and increase access to

anti-retroviral treatment through public-private partnerships. The

grants for tuberculosis will enable rapid scaling up and expanded

coverage of the DOTS initiative in geographical territories and

population segments within India, not covered so far. "

Purnima Mane, Chief Portfolio Director for the Global Fund, said, " Since

India has the largest numbers of people living with HIV/AIDS outside of

South Africa, and also the highest burden of tuberculosis worldwide,

these awards will significantly impact universal coverage globally. "

* * *

Fact sheets for Global Fund proposals are available on the Global Fund's

web site: http://www.globalfundatm.org <http://www.globalfundatm.org/>

For further information contact Bourgoing, Global Fund

Communications Officer, at +41 22 791 1714,

<mailto:.bourgoing@...>

.Bourgoing@...

In India, please contact Bobby at +91 98 220 63119.

e-MAIL: <bj@...>