Here it will receive a report from the outgoing Chair of the Technical Review Panel, Professor Michel Kazatchkine, regarding their recommendations of proposals for funding The Board will also, review policy proposals related to voting rights for the ‘Communities' delegation,

Country Coordinating Mechanisms, grant renewals, in-kind donations, the replenishment mechanism,the logo, and the legal status of the Fund in Switzerland.

Global Fund launched the Partnership Forum

The doors for debate, comments and feedback are opened

Geneva , Switzerland.- A n open opportunity for stakeholders to offer input on how well the Global Fund is doing and guidance on how it can do better in the future. This is the Partnership Forum.

The Partnership Forum one of the four governing, administrative and advisory bodies for the Global Fund. The other three are the Board of Directors, Secretariat and the Technical Review Panel. The Forum provides a channel for feedback from stakeholders who are not formally represented elsewhere in the governance structure of the foundation.

On July 7-8 this year the Global Fund will also organize a physical meeting of the Partnership Forum in Bangkok , Thailand just before the XV International AIDS Conference.

What is RedLa+?

RedLa+ is made up of national networks and associations of people living with HIV/AIDS from Argentina , Chile , Uruguay , Bolivia , Peru , Brazil , Colombia , Venezuela , Ecuador , Costa Rica , Panama , Nicaragua , Dominican Republic , Belize , Honduras , El Salvador , Guatemala , Cuba and Mexico .

In its role as the focal point, the RedLa+ is aware of the importance of assuring a significant participation from the community, in particular from those started and that work in Latin America and the Caribbean , whose official language is Spanish.

“We encourage all stakeholders to add their voices to the Partnership Forum and to give us an honest assessment of how the Global Fund is working in your countries and communities,” said Helene Gayle, Global Fund Board Member and Director, HIV, Tuberculosis, and Reproductive Health, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, “as well as your guidance on how to maximize its impact.”.

RedLa+ seeks solutions

.Because of the difficulties faced by Spanish-speaking people when expressing their opinions at the Partnership Forum, RedLa+ sought answers for this communication need, and through its e-Mail network ESVIHSIDA asked about the countries' CCMs and received information that is to be presented at the Partnership Forum.

Geneva , Switzerland.- The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria welcomes U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson's announcement of an expedited process for reviewing applications for new fixed-dose and co-packaged HIV/AIDS drugs.

The Global Fund also welcomed the announcement by U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Randall Tobias that drug patent issues should not impede purchase under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief of fixed-dose combination drugs.

“Recipients of Global Fund grants already have the opportunity to buy generic fixed-dose combinations, but clearly FDA approval of these drugs would lead many more countries to choose them,” says Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund.

The prospects of a wider selection of fixed-dose combination drugs were improved when three pharmaceutical companies, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Gilead Sciences and Merck & Co, announced plans to develop a fixed-dose combination of three HIV medicines. The three companies also said they were looking into co-packaging separate HIV drugs to facilitate use.

“Fixed-dose combinations and co-packaging are the way of the future for AIDS drugs in developing countries,” says Professor Feachem. “We are very pleased that more companies are taking up the challenge by collaborating to create new solutions./ Back to top