The Global signs major new AIDS and Tb grants for India

[Guest guest]

GLOBAL FUND SIGNS MAJOR NEW AIDS AND TB GRANTS FOR INDIA

10 February 2004

New Delhi, India - India today signed two new grant agreements with

the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, paving the

way for the disbursal of US$ 33 million over the next two years, and

totaling US$ 129 million over five years. These vital new grants will

help scale up the national HIV/AIDS prevention and control program

and expand the national TB control program.

These grants were originally approved on January 30, 2003 by the

Board of the Global Fund at its second round of grant proposals, at

the same time as India signed its first grant agreement with the

Global Fund for US$ 5.6 million for TB control as the first phase in

a five-year program worth US$ 8.8 million. The Global Fund has

subsequently also approved another US$ 15 million for HIV/TB

prevention and treatment in its third round of grants. Total

commitment from the Global Fund to India now amounts to US$153

million over five years.

The first phase of the new US$ 100 million component for building

capacity for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment – worth US$ 26.1

million – will support prevention of parent to child transmission of

HIV/AIDS in the six high prevalence states of Tamil Nadu,

Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, and

also provide antiretroviral treatment for 4,120 pregnant women. These

states together carry 80% of the burden of HIV/AIDS in the country. A

further 12,000 additional AIDS patients will receive antiretroviral

treatments over the first two-year phase through a partnership

between NACO, four pharmaceutical companies and NGOs.

Freedom Foundation (Bangalore), ARCON (Mumbai) and YRG Care (Chennai)

are the lead non-governmental partners in the antiretroviral

treatment and HIV prevention program, which is expected to include

participation from 1,000 community-based NGOs. The National AIDS

Research Institute of Pune, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric

Diseases of Kolkata, MGM Medical College of Mumbai, and MGR Medical

University of Chennai will be responsible for monitoring viral

resistance in the project areas. The program plans to further expand

the number of health centers providing voluntary counseling and

testing services nationally to 444 and the number of trained workers

to 2,200, from both the public and private sectors. Over 7 million

pregnant mothers will receive HIV counseling and voluntary testing

services through this program nationwide and 81 medical colleges in

high prevalence states will be upgraded to expand access to ART for

mothers and their families.

The first phase of the approved US$ 29 million dollar TB program,

amounting to US$ 7 million, will be for the national TB control

program. TB control activities will be expanded and consolidated in

56 districts of UP and Bihar, covering a population of 110 million

people with DOTS (Directly Observed Therapy, Short Course) services.

Part of this activity will be applied through the non-governmental TB

Association of India extending DOTS services in the urban slums of

Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

" The global battle against HIV/AIDS hinges on India keeping its

burden low. This grant is intended to support India in its crucial

phase of tackling the epidemic, " said Professor Feachem,

Executive Director of the Global Fund. He continued, " Quick action

can prevent HIV from derailing the Indian economy. " On support for

the TB control program, Prof Feachem said: " With this support, the

India TB control program will be able to cover most of the uncovered

population with DOTS services, and emerge as a global success story

in the scale up of TB control programs. "

Ms. Meenakshi Datta Ghosh, Additional Secretary and Project Director

of the National AIDS Control Organisation said of the signing, " The

financial grant award from the Global Fund will enable

implementation of a comprehensive package for people living with

HIV/AIDS, with more services for prevention, introduction of

antiretroviral treatment for increasing numbers of women, children

and men, and more public private partnerships. "

Commenting on the grant, Ashok Rau, Executive Trustee & CEO of

Freedom Foundation said: " For people who are already part of the care

and support program at the Freedom Foundation, this grant comes as a

ray of hope to sustain them, and will enable us to include more

people living with HIV in the program. "

The Global Fund is a unique global public-private partnership

dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to

prevent and treat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership

between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected

communities represents a new approach to international health

financing. The Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral

and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing

with the three diseases. The Global Fund has so far committed $2.1

billion to 225 programs in 121 countries.

The Global Fund has been established as an independent private

foundation governed by an international Board. Apart from a high

standard of technical quality, the Global Fund attaches no conditions

to any of its grants. It is not an implementing agency. It relies on

local ownership and planning to ensure that new resources are

directed to programs on the frontline of this global effort, reaching

those most in need. Its performance-based approach to grant-making -

where grants are only disbursed if progress has been measured and

verified - is designed to ensure that funds are used efficiently and

create real change for people and communities. All programs are

monitored by independent organizations contracted by the Global Fund

to ensure that its funding has real impact in the fight against the

three pandemics.

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Information on the work of the Global Fund is available on our web

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17 68, tim.clark@....

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