Ann Ithibu
INCREASED PUBLIC AWARENESS AND FUNDING NEEDED AS COVID-19 THREATENS TO CAUSE A RESURGENCE OF HIV, TB AND MALARIA
According to an article published in the Nature Research Journal on 12 August 2020, countries need to mobilize additional funding for the three diseases (HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria), and raise public awareness of the rising threat of COVID-19 to their treatment programs if they wish to prevent a resurgence of the diseases due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers also need to…
THE GLOBAL FUND’S WAMBO.ORG HELPS COUNTRIES PROCURE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AND COVID-19 DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
The global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) to curb the spread of COVID-19, ventilators, and testing supplies continues to outstrip the supply. At the onset of the pandemic, three countries produced about 40% of the global supplies of PPE. With the pandemic, at least 47 countries implemented some form of export restrictions on those items. The increased demand accompanied…
THE GLOBAL FUND REFLECTS ON ITS PROGRESS THUS FAR, ASSESSES THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 AND INVOKES THE ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARD POLICY ON PAKISTAN
The Global Fund: Results Report 2020 The Global Fund’s results report stated that, with its partners, they saved 38 million lives from AIDS, tubercolosis (TB), and malaria across the world since 2002 (when the Global Fund was established). About six million lives were saved in 2019 alone. In other words, without Global Fund interventions, six million people would have died. The report,…
SCHOOL CLOSURES HEIGHTEN THE RISKS OF UNWANTED PREGNANCY AND CONTRACTING HIV FOR ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of schools in most countries as a measure to slow the spread of the virus. A side effect of these closures is that they deprive young people of the social protection that school offers and exposed them to risks of sexual violence and abuse at home, child marriages, and unwanted pregnancies. Lockdowns and…
A SILVER LINING IN THE FACE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused havoc across various sectors all over the world. The pandemic has strained healthcare systems and caused the loss of lives and livelihoods. However, the disruptions caused by the pandemic have catalyzed actions that will likely outlive the pandemic. Some of the interventions that most governments, private sectors, and civil societies, have put…
MISUSE OF COVID-19 FUNDS UNDERMINES THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 PANDEMIC
While the world is busy fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries are facing an ‘epidemic’ called corruption. Concerns about the misuse of public funds, including those from international donors, have been reported in some countries, particularly in the emergency procurement of medical products for the COVID-19 response. Since COVID-19 found many countries ill prepared, most resorted to emergency procurement of…
OTHER NEWS RELATING TO THE GLOBAL FUND PARTNERSHIP AND COVID-19
Modeling studies done in March had predicted that, in a worst-case scenario, the COVID-19 pandemic could cause more than double the number of malaria deaths reported in 2018 (405 000). However, a recent article by Science notes that the pandemic has not had the projected impact on the malaria response. Initially, African countries had suspended malaria bed net distribution campaigns, and there were fears that clinics…
THE GLOBAL FUND’S COVID-19 EMERGENCY FUNDING IS RUNNING OUT
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 a pandemic on 11 March, governments, the private sector, and multilateral institutions have raised millions of dollars to support its response. The Global Fund was no exception. It quickly made $1 billion available to protect the gains made in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria and to mitigate the impact of the pandemic:…
CORRUPTION, FRAUD AND DISINFORMATION DURING THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019: HEIGHTENED VIGILANCE IS NECESSARY
Corruption and development aid are recurring issues in the discussion about the effectiveness of aid, and it is often debated whether aid governance strengthens or weakens transparency and accountability mechanisms. International donors have progressively developed tools to track the use of funding, and analyze and assess the processes that are at high risk of corruption, in particular the procurement of…
