Replenishment Roundup

Author:

David Garmaise

Article Type:

Article Number: 8

ABSTRACT This article reports on recent developments concerning the Fourth Replenishment.

With less than four weeks to go to the replenishment conference in Washington on 2–3 December, the focus is on countries that have not yet announced their pledges for the Fourth Replenishment.

The Communities Delegation on the Global Fund Board has called on Australia to “be in the forefront” with the UK and the US and to substantially increase its previous contribution of $200 million. In a news release issued on 5 November, the delegation said that it strongly supports the call for an Australian contribution of A$375 (US$357 million) which, the delegation said, amounts to a little over A$5 per year from each Australian. The news release was distributed by email. For further information, contact Rachel Ong.

The Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN) is asking people and organisations to sign on a letter from German advocates calling on Germany to increase its commitment to the Global Fund. Germany pledged $790 million for 2011–2013. The advocates said that with the highest GDP in Europe, Germany “can do more.” The call was distributed by email. For further information, contact Katy Wright.

Three health NGOs have called on the European Commission increase its contribution to the Global Fund to € 450 million ($608 million). The European Commission pledged $431 million for 2011–2013. The call was made in a news release issued on 6 November by Global Health Advocates, Results UK and the TB Europe Coalition.

In a news release issued on 5 November, ACT-UP Paris called on President François Hollande to increase France’s contribution to the Global Fund. France had announced in July that it was committing € 1.08 billion ($1.4 billion) for 2014–2016, approximately the same amount as it pledged for 2011–2013. On the same day that the ACT-UP Paris news release came out, both France and the Global Fund issued news releases (here and here) reiterating the $1.4 billion pledge.

Some of the other countries that have not announced their pledges yet are Canada, Japan, Italy and Netherlands.

GFAN’s “Here I Am” campaign presented a call-to-action petition with over 2,000 signatures to donor countries at the Global Fund Board at its meeting in Geneva on 7–8 November. The petition calls on donor countries to “fully fund” the Global Fund (meaning at least $15 billion). The Here I Am campaign, launched a year ago, uses ambassadors, real life experiences, websites, blogs, social media and video stories to advocate for an increase in funding for the Global Fund. GFAN will be organising a teleconference for advocates every Tuesday from now until the replenishment conference. For further information, contact Katy Wright.

Some details on the tentative agenda for the replenishment conference in Washington have been released. There will be four main sessions: (1) a partnership symposium featuring a keynote address by John Kerry, US Secretary of State; (2) an evening reception featuring a keynote address by Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; (3) a high-level leadership session; and (4) a pledging opportunity session.