GLOBAL FUND APPROVES $604 MILLION IN GRANTS; NEARLY HALF WILL GO TO AFRICA

The board of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has approved $604 million in new grants to fight the three diseases, bringing the fund's total portfolio of grants to $6.4 billion in 135 countries. It hopes to approve another $242 million today, as more resources become available.

Nearly half of the financing through these new grants will go to Africa, the group said. Half of the grants will go to fighting AIDS, while the other half is evenly divided between tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.

The Global Fund has approved grants for 454 programs in 135 countries with a total commitment of $6.4 billion. As of June, 544,000 people have begun antiretroviral treatment through Global Fund-supported programs, a more than 40 percent increase over six months earlier. In addition, tuberculosis programs have detected and treated more than 1.4 million TB cases under the World Health Organization-approved TB control strategy.

The organization works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases.