AFRO-NETS> Tanzania: Global Fund Grant to Fight Malaria Derailed by Ministry Dispute

[Dieter Neuvians MD <neuvians@mweb.co.za>]

Tanzania: Global Fund Grant to Fight Malaria Derailed by Ministry Dispute
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source UN Wire
http://www.unwire.org/unwire/util/category_search.asp?objCat=health

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's expected 
announcement tomorrow of its first disbursement of money -- US$ 12 
million earmarked for Tanzania's project to provide pregnant women 
with insecticide-treated bed nets -- was put in doubt yesterday when 
Tanzania's Finance Ministry said it would control the money instead 
of the Health Ministry, as designated in its original proposal, the 
Boston Globe reports:
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/325/nation/Tanzania_malaria_fight_snagged+.shtml

Fund officials rejected the change, which would have put the funds 
into a general account and given the Finance Ministry control over 
its disbursement. "The Global Fund is disappointed to announce that 
it will not be able to proceed with the planned signing of its first 
grant agreement with Tanzania," the fund's Executive Director Richard 
Feachem wrote yesterday to his board.

Amid mounting pressure from health activists and developing countries 
to begin releasing money, officials said that its decision on Tanza-
nia could help meet donor demands of tangible results and transparent 
spending. "What happened is disappointing, but at the same time, I'm 
happy the fund will not acquiesce for the sake of signing a grant 
agreement," said an unnamed fund official. "It's important that the 
fund be held accountable. We are better off for not signing the 
agreement."

The fund official added that if the problem in Tanzania persists, the 
fund would find other ways to implement the program. "We can go 
around the government," the official said. "Our aspiration is that 
the government works with civil society groups, but if we have to act 
outside of governments and give directly to organizations fighting 
the good fight, we will. We won't be stonewalled by a ministry."

The fund was also expected soon to announce financing for Ghana, 
Haiti and Sri Lanka. The fund has received US$ 2 billion in pledges 
so far (John Donnelly, Boston Globe, Nov. 21). When U.N. Secretary 
General Kofi Annan announced the concept of the fund last year, he 
said US$ 7 billion to US$ 10 billion would be needed annually to com-
bat the diseases (UN Wire, April 26, 2001).

Feachem said this week that the fund would need an additional US$ 7 
billion by the end of 2004, adding that he plans to lobby Washington 
for more funds during a visit in early December (Donnelly, Boston 
Globe).

--
To send a message to AFRO-NETS, write to: afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@usa.healthnet.org
in the body of the message type: subscribe afro-nets OR unsubscribe afro-nets
To contact a person, send a message to: afro-nets-help@usa.healthnet.org
Information and archives: http://www.afronets.org