Alliance nominated sole principal recipient of Global Fund grant in Ukraine
Press Release February 2004
Dublin, Ireland – After announcing the suspension at the end of January 2004 of Global Fund support for a five-year US$ 92 million HIV/AIDS program in Ukraine due to serious reservations over management issues, the Global Fund is happy to announce the appointment of a new temporary recipient for the grant.
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance, a sub-recipient in the previous grant structure, will now be the sole principal recipient administering funds to implementers of the program's four components: care and support of people living with HIV/AIDS, a general risk reduction campaign, targeted treatment and prevention programs for high-risk populations, and monitoring and evaluation. Among the programs' targets is the expansion of the number of people receiving AIDS treatment from fewer than 60 to 4,000 within two years.
Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund, said, “This new arrangement will allow funds to flow to those who most need it – the people of Ukraine who are living with HIV/AIDS. We are committed to help turn around the AIDS epidemic in Ukraine, and we are pleased that we could speedily solve the problems which prevented effective action.”
A letter of intent has been issued by the Global Fund to the Alliance, pending signing of a new grant agreement. The Global Fund anticipates that the proposed grant will be for a term of 12 months and for an amount of up to US$15 million. The negotiation of any extension of the grant beyond the anticipated 12-month term will be based both on the performance of the Alliance and on the progress made by the Ukraine Country Coordinating Mechanism (the Global Fund's counterpart in countries receiving grants) in addressing the concerns raised by the Global Fund that necessitated the grant's suspension.
“Once the serious issues we have raised on governance, management and adherence to required business practices are satisfactorily addressed, we hope the program will soon return to being country-led by the Country Coordinating Mechanism,” said Brad Herbert, the Global Fund's Senior Director for Strategy, Evaluation and Program Support.
The Government of the Ukraine, which chairs the Country Coordinating Mechanism and through the Ministry of Health was one of the original principal recipients of the grant, has pledged its support to this process and to the Alliance in its new role.
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance is an international development non-governmental organization which was set up in 1993 by a consortium of international donors. The Alliance was established as a specialist, professional intermediary organization working in effective partnership with non-governmental and community-based organizations in developing countries, as well as with national governments, private and public donors and the UN system. The Alliance's mission is to support communities in developing countries to play a full and effective role in the global response to AIDS.
To date, the Alliance has provided technical assistance to NGOs and CBOs from more than 40 countries with ongoing programs underway in 20 countries, including the Ukraine, in addition to regional and international work.
The Global Fund is a unique global public-private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases. The Global Fund has so far committed $2.1 billion to 225 programs in 121 countries.
The Global Fund has been established as an independent private foundation governed by an international Board. It is not an implementing agency but relies on local ownership and planning to ensure that new resources are directed to programs on the frontline of this global effort, reaching those most in need. Its performance-based approach to grant-making - where grants are only disbursed if progress has been measured and verified - is designed to ensure that funds are used efficiently and create real change for people and communities. All programs are monitored by independent organizations contracted by the Global Fund to ensure that its funding has impact in the fight against the three pandemics.
For more information on the Global Fund's support for programs in Ukraine, English speaking enquiries should be referred to Jon Lidén, Director of Communications at tel: +41 22 791 1723, mobile: +41 79 244 6006, e-mail: jon.liden@theglobalfund.org.
Russian speaking enquiries should be addressed to the Global Fund Eastern Europe desk, tel + 41-22-7911797, mobile +41-79-7981240, fax +41-22-7911701. Further information on the International HIV/AIDS Alliance is available at: www.aidsalliance.org
