Zimbabwe on Thursday pledged 1 million U.S. dollars to the Global Fund, which is seeking to raise at least 14 billion U.S. dollars for its 2021 to 2023 funding cycle, official news agency New Ziana reported.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa made the pledge at the 6th replenishment conference of the Global Fund which opened in Lyon, France on Thursday.
The pledge comes at a time when the country has reportedly been facing shortages of antiretroviral drugs due to foreign currency shortages.
The Global Fund is a basket funding where countries pool funds together that are specifically used to support those without adequate resources in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), malaria and HIV.
The Global Fund holds what are referred to as replenishment conferences every three years, with the last one in 2016 raising 12.6 billion dollars for its 2017 to 2019 cycle.
The fund was set up in the early 1990s when HIV and TB were a big public health challenge. To date, the Fund has saved 16 million lives, prevented 234 million new infections and improved health systems with the overall aim of eliminating the three diseases by 2030.
Zimbabwe has been a beneficiary since 2002.
Funding mobilized at the current meeting, which ends Friday, will be used for the 2021 to 2023 cycle.
Mnangagwa said at the meeting that Zimbabwe had over the years received 1.3 billion dollars from the Global Fund and pledged to continue supporting the initiative, state news agency New Ziana reported.
“Since 2002, the Global Fund has approved nearly 1.7 billion dollars to Zimbabwe, of which over 1.3 billion dollars has been disbursed. Let me express my profound gratitude for this invaluable support,” Mnangagwa told delegates at the meeting. “We remain committed to continue to contribute to this worthy effort, and hereby pledge 1 million dollars.”
At least 710,000 people of the 1.2 million on antiretroviral treatment in Zimbabwe are receiving drugs under Global Fund Support.
The remainder are being supported from local resources through the National Aids Council as well as a grant from the United States government. Enditem
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