Funding Bill Brieger | 13 Feb 2007 09:54 pm
Nigeria Donates to Fight Malaria
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) not only gives money to disease control programs in developing and middle income countries, it also receives financial support from these same countries. To date, US $9,757,422,805 has been pledged to the Global Fund, of which US $6,736,768,490 has been paid.  Approximately 4% of the payments have come from foundations and other philanthropic sources. The Global Fund therefore, relies on governments for the bulk of its resources.
Nigeria announced a US $10 million pledge to the Global Fund. This comes on top of an existing pledge of US $30 million ($9 million of which has been paid). Â Other African countries that have actually paid into the Fund include Burkina Faso, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, for a grand total African contribution received of nearly US $17 million. Another four African countries have made pledges.
The saying that ‘it is not the amount of the gift, but the thought that counts,’ certainly applies here. The fact that some endemic countries are willing to make a contribution to the global disease fight shows a level of commitment that all should emulate.