GlobalFund’s 2016/2017 replenishment circle: NGOs task donor countries

A coalition of Nigerian Health Non-Governmental Organizatio has called on donor countries to help the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria meet the 2017/2019 replenishment target of $13 billion.
This is to safeguard the achievements of the fund, which has provided HIV care and treatment to 750,000 Nigerians, treated 310,000 TB cases and ensured 93.4 million mosquito nets were in the hands of Nigerian families.
The call was made in a statement signed by a representative of the organizations and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Monday.
Signed by Oluwakemi Gbadamosi, the Senior Manager, PR and Communication of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the release enjoined Germany and China, two leading contributors to the Global Fund, to toe the path of Japan, another leading contributor, with the country’s recent announcement of $800 million to the Global Fund’s current replenishment effort, which represents a 46 per cent increase in what the country use dot give to the Global Fund.
According to Steve Aborisade, a member of the coalition and Coordinator of Projekthope, countries need to meet their pledge to the Global Fund to consolidate on the gains recorded through the interventions of the GFATM over the years.
Dr. Adetayo Towolawi, the Nigerian Country Programmes Manager of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, added that Nigeria remains the highest beneficiary of the Global Fund with up to $1.43 billion of varying levels of assistance to the country onHIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria within the last 13 years, adding that it will be difficult to continue to offer crucial services without the support of the Fund.
Towolawi said: “Nigeria accounts for 24% of the global disease burden of malaria, the largest in the world, nine per cent of the global HIV disease burden, the second-largest; and seven per cent of the TB burden, also world second-largest.”
Aborisade thus opined: “If Nigeria misses it, the whole of Africa may have also missed the mark.
“If countries fail to fund AIDS, TB and Malaria with treatment and services not scaled up rapidly by 2020 (a period of four years’ time), it could result in 21 million deaths and an additional 28 million people becoming infected with HIV by 2030. If this were to happen, the world would have to pay an additional $24 billion every year for antiretroviral therapy by 2030.
“On the other hand, a timely scale-up of funding for AIDS, TB and malaria would yield a 15-fold return on investment. The status of our country Nigeria, the second largest bearer of the global burden of AIDS, 7% bearer of global TB burden and second largest global burden of Malaria should be clear indication of where we stand.”
The coalition particularly charged Germany and China to keep up their support for the Fund, as well for the Nigerian government to be more committed to treating her people and draw inspiration from a country like Japan.