www.globalaidsalliance.org

Washington, DC, March 16, 2006—Today, after hearing from numerous constituents across the US, the US Senate passed an amendment to add 566 million to the total Foreign Operations Budget. The amendment stated the added funding should be used to increase the US contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The Global Fund is the world’s leading mechanism in the fight to battle these three diseases, which together kill 6 million people a year.

Tuberculosis is the biggest killer of people living with AIDS, yet the United States' bilateral anti-tuberculosis program is small. The Global Fund, however, provides two-thirds of all TB funding. It also provides more than half of all financing to address malaria, a major killer of children, in addition to one quarter of all donor HIV/AIDS spending.

"This is a clear vote of confidence in the Global Fund, and the Fund's Board should go forward to launch the next round of grant-making at its upcoming April board meeting," said Dr. Paul Zeitz, Executive Director of the Global AIDS Alliance.

"The US Senate is showing how the US can challenge other donors to do their part in the fight against disease," said Dr. Zeitz. "Only with this kind of leadership do we have any hope of persuading other nations to participate in a truly effective, global fight against disease threats."

In a spirit of bipartisan cooperation, Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) co-authored the amendment and worked for its passage. These Senators sent a letter to the Senate Budget Committee, stating:

"We applaud the President's commitment in his budget to expand funding for bilateral programs. However, he provides only $300 million for the Global Fund, $566 million short of the need. Failing to renew existing and demonstrably effective grants would be unconscionable and could force the Global Fund to cut off existing successful programs."

The Senators also stated:

"We believe Congress should ensure that we live up to the commitment implied in the Act by matching, on a one-to-two basis, the contributions of other donors. To date, every dollar committed by the United States has been matched and doubled by contributions from other donors."