Germany Reinstates Part of Its 2011 Pledge to the Global Fund

Author:

David Garmaise

Article Type:

Article Number: 5

ABSTRACT Germany has released the first half of its promised €200 million 2011 contribution to the Global Fund. Earlier this year, Germany suspended payment of its 2011 contribution following media reports about the misuse of grant funds in a small number of countries.

Some conditions attached

Germany has released the first half of its promised €200 million 2011 contribution to the Global Fund. The announcement was made after the High-Level Review Panel submitted its interim report (see previous article).

This information was contained in a press release issued by the Global Fund on 1 July 2011. Germany had suspended payment of its 2011 contribution after the media reported that individuals in some recipient organisations in four countries had misused some Global Fund money. (Sweden and Ireland also suspended their contributions.)

The German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development attached some conditions to the release of its contribution. When we went to press, information concerning the conditions was not available. The Global Fund’s press release said that the Fund will work with the Ministry to clarify the conditions. It also said that the Fund is “bound by a basic principle that public donors cannot restrict their contributions to specific recipients, and the leadership of the organization will work with the Ministry to find the best way to align these elements.”

Germany is the fourth largest donor to the Global Fund, having pledged more than $2.1 billion since the Fund’s creation in 2002. Of this, $857 million is for the period 2011-2013.

The Global Fund’s press release is available here.