Yesterday the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced a $500 million grant.The grant will give the Fund $100 million per year over the next five years to help fill the Round 6 funding gap, although additional funding from bilaterals and other donors will still be needed to close the gap.
The Gates grant is great news for the Global Fund. At a time when the Fund faces a severe funding shortfall and uncertainty as it selects a new Executive Director, this show of confidence from the Gateses demonstrates that the Fund's model is good and its programs are delivering promised services.
The Gates Foundation has been criticized in the past for focusing too much on research, and not enough on implementation. The Foundation has some significant implementation projects, such as Avahan in India and ACHAP in Botswana, but it has focused more on vaccines, microbicides and other research. This grant to the Global Fund demonstrates that the Foundation understands it must support health delivery, infrastructure, and implementation projects. If they do not support health care delivery, the Foundation will not be able to distribute the microbicides, gels, and new drugs they are working to develop.
This is the largest Gates Foundation grant since Warren Buffet's historic announcement. What a way to kick off the Toronto AIDS Conference!
Update: See the Washington Post's coverage of the donation here.
