As the war in Iraq comes to an end, a bigger, deadlier and more urgent threat demands the world’s attention. AIDS, TB, and malaria currently kill over 6 million people each year. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria is the world’s best hope to stop these three big killers. The Global Fund was established to attract additional resources to be used by governments, NGOs and the private sector to scale up effective, coordinated efforts to fight AIDS, TB and malaria.

Within just one year, the Global Fund has already awarded US$ 1.5 billion in grants which will make it possible for low-income countries to:

-Bring DOTS TB treatment services to an additional 2 million people who are dying from this disease
-Provide treated mosquito nets to protect an additional 30 million African families from malaria
-Increase access to antiretroviral treatment (ARV) for African people living with HIV by six-fold

After such astonishing success, wealthy countries are now failing to provide additional money for the Global Fund. The same G8 nations that called for the establishment of the Global Fund are now defaulting on promises they made to fight diseases of poverty in developing countries. They are in breach of many of their own resolutions. For example, when the G8 met in Okinawa in July, 2000, they pledged to deliver on three targets:

-Reduce the number of HIV/AIDS-infected young people by 25 percent by 2010;
-Reduce TB deaths and prevalence of disease by 50 percent by 2010;
-Reduce the burden of disease associated with malaria by 50 percent by 2010.”

Without the financial support of G8 nations, these targets cannot be met. The Global Fund needs $1.4 billion in the coming months, $4.7 billion during the next year and much more in years to come. During the first three days of June, G8 leaders will be meeting in Evian, France. If millions of lives are to be saved, G8 leaders must be held accountable to their previous resolutions to stop AIDS, TB and malaria. They must provide massive new infusions of cash into the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria.