Global Fund backs new funding for deadly diseases

Health advocates including the Global AIDS Alliance and ActionAid had worried that lack of money could force the fund to delay help to countries battling the illnesses that kill more than 6 million people a year.

The Global Fund's board voted in favour of launching a new round of grants, to cost up to $1 billion in their first two years, even though the cash had not yet been pledged by governments and other donors.

"There was a strong agreement that given the commitments made to reach global health targets, and given the urgent needs out there, it would be ethically impossible to not launch round six," spokesman Jon Liden told Reuters.

The final amount of the new tranche of grants will depend on which specific project proposals the Global Fund board agrees to at a meeting in November, he added.

Launched with the backing of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2002 to boost funding for neglected diseases, the Global Fund has become the largest global supporter of malaria and tuberculosis projects and among the top three AIDS funders.

"Already, millions of people have benefited from the programmes the Global Fund is financing around the world and hundreds of thousands of people are alive today who otherwise might not have been," Executive Director Richard Feachem said.

He said the new grants should allow the Geneva-based fund "to maintain this vital momentum to win the battle against these three pandemics."

Unlike more established institutions like the World Bank, the fund has struggled to win long-term financial backing from its donors, the largest of which are Europe, the United States and Japan.

It has already approved grants worth $5 billion to improve antiretroviral and anti-malarial drug access, distribute bed nets and expand testing to stop the spread of tuberculosis.

Programmes currently supported by the agency are now fully funded, though its initial five-year grants will run out soon and will require substantial funds to be continued.

Carol Jacobs, chairwoman of the Global Fund's board, said the agency was seeking multi-year commitments from governments and increasing ties with the private sector to boost donations to cover long-term funding needs for its programs.

"We know that countries and vulnerable populations are depending on it and we must not fail them," she said.