TREATMENT

ABSTRACT When the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and malaria was created in 2002, its aim was to provide financial support to developing countries in their battle against the three border-crossing communicable diseases for which treatment and prevention options were available.

ABSTRACT This article examines two challenges that arose during the development of Zimbabwe’s funding request: (1) There was not much room to maneuver with respect to the program interventions that were included in the request; and (2) A group of donors criticized the process for developing the funding request and the outcome.

ABSTRACT Global Fund grants to Guinea, which are managed under the Additional Safeguard Policy, face numerous challenges. The Global Fund Board has approved an HIV grant with a new principal recipient, the Ministry of Health. The grant complements a TB/HIV grant approved in December 2017.

ABSTRACT The Technical Review Panel found a lot to like when it reviewed India’s HIV funding request in 2017. The TRP particularly cited the country’s ambitious plan to fast track the end of the HIV epidemic. At the same time, however, the TRP expressed several concerns, including the absence of human rights– and gender-responsive programming. Five HIV grants to India were among the grants recently approved by the Global Fund Board.

ABSTRACT Despite functioning in a challenging operating environment, Global Fund grants have helped Mali achieve significant progress against the three diseases, according to an audit conducted by the Office of the Inspector General. However, there are problems with drug expiries and stockouts, delays in the supply chain, and delays in, or non-provision of, testing and treatment.

ABSTRACT As a result of a pricing agreement between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and two generic drug companies, starting in 2018 a state-of-the-art fixed dose combination ARV regimen will be available in 92 developing nations at a maximum cost of $75 per patient per year. The Global Fund was one of several organizations that worked on the agreement.

ABSTRACT The Ministry of Finance’s recent rejection of a $1.2 billion funding request from the Ministry of Health to implement the National AIDS Strategy raises questions about the ability and willingness of the Russian Federation to manage its HIV epidemic. Neither the government nor civil society organizations have taken up the services previously supported by the Global Fund.

ABSTRACT This article provides information about an increase in the draft budget for 2017, presented by the government of Ukraine. The budget for HIV and TB treatment has increased by approximately 140%. The commitment by the government of Ukraine is considered as a validation of the success of the joint efforts of the Global Fund and CSOs advocating for increased domestic funding. The next stage is approval of the budget.

ABSTRACT A group of researchers asks whether the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 with current prevention approaches is realistic. They question estimates of HIV incidence and the number of people on treatment, and they express doubts about revenue forecasts.

ABSTRACT The AIDS Healthcare Foundation and other researchers are calling for more transparency in how UNAIDS estimates how many people are currently on life-saving treatment with antiretrovirals. A study conducted by a large group of researchers and published in The Lancet has produced some results that differ from UNAIDS figures. In response, UNAIDS says that it is confident its estimates are accurate.