Professor Michel Kazatchkine is the head of The Global Fund, an organization born out of necessity for a one-stop-shop for funding of global health treatment. The Global Fund is an international financial institution fighting the three major epidemic diseases: HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. In just six short years of existence the amount of people receiving treatment for these epidemics has reached four million and 40% of people with crucial needs for anti-retroviral drugs receive them.
Even then, that number is not 100%. The Global Fund is now reaching out for new monies and assistance from countries deemed able. Australia recently promised to raise their global assistance from .3% to .5% of their gross national income. Kazatchkine and the Global Fund are urging the nation to follow through on its promise, citing that they're number 16 in Global Fund donors and could be doing much better.
Asking for new sources of funding is not limited to well-off nations. The Global Fund also requests "economies in transition" - countries that are gradually getting back on their feet - to be both recipients and donors of treatment aid. Russia followed this pattern in 2007 and over time reimbursed the Global Fund for grants received. With recent success in drastic poverty reductions, China will be asked to do the same.
-Nick Mohazzabfar
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