The Global Fund: failing to reverse AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

        One of the biggest players in the development arena is the Global Fund for Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which has spent around $20bn over the last five years fighting these diseases.

It is good, then, that the Fund has released an internal evaluation of progress made in these last five years. 

In our view, the success of the Fund should be judged against its progress in reducing the incidence of these diseases.  After all, that is its primary reason for existing.

But as the the FT reported last week, the Fund has made no such progress.  In some cases - notably AIDS - things have got worse.

Here, in more detail, is what the evaluators found:

1. while HIV treatment had been boosted considerably, there was little evidence of large-scale change in the behaviour of people most at risk;

 

2. the Fund had failed to think about how to assess the effectiveness of its programs from the very start and should have built impact evaluations into its activities;

 

3. the Fund's support has strengthened existing TB programs but shown little evidence of accelerated progress since 2003;

 

4. it praised progress in distributing bed nets and spraying to tackle malaria, but said there was litle progress in providing drugs and only a few countries provide evidence of reductions in parasite prevalence;

 

5. nonetheless, while judging the Fund's impact as positive, the study was based on a sample of just 18 countries in part because they had shown good grant performance. Two countries with the greatest burden of infectious disease--South Africa and India did not participate.

So there we have it: after 5 years of failure and billions spent, we have precious little to show for it. The Fund trumpets the resources it spreads around and the skill with which it manages itself, but it has not managed to reduce disease.

And still they ask for more money to continue on this failing path.  Sounds a bit like the US auto industry...

Comments

[AIDS symptoms]

It is very sad that we waste so much money around the world on war and , we lack funds for providing life for AIDS patients

[ASCEND, A Humanitarian Alliance]

Great article, I appreciated the insight. It is amazing how much the U.S. can spend and accomplish so little with it.