Washington, DC — The rich nations are now ready to intervene in a massive way to stop AIDS in Africa and other developing nations. This intervention will involve public-private partnerships in the West and developing nations. With the slashing of the prices of AIDS medicines by the pharmaceutical companies, the rich nations and African governments are now focusing on a massive infusion of money and technical expertise to stop the epidemic. The United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Kofi Annan called for the establishment of a global trust fund, between $7 billion and $10 billion a year, to fight AIDS at the April 2001 African regional AIDS summit in Abuja, Nigeria. The World Bank is the projected agency to manage the proposed fund. Experts believe that the June 25-27, 2001 UN Special Session on HIV/AIDS and the July 2001 G-8 nations summit in Genoa, Italy will likely usher in the basic details of a global fund to fight AIDS.
However, a World Bank Global Trust Fund already exists. At least on paper. The U.S. Congress on August 19, 2000 passed the Public Law 106-264, the "Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Relief Act of 2000" that established the World Bank AIDS Trust Fund, authorizing $150 million a year for the next two years to establish a global trust fund in the World Bank, of which $50 million a year were set aside to address AIDS orphans. The bill main sponsors were James Leach, R-Iowa and Barbara Lee, D-California, who replaced Ron Dellums in the Congress after his retirement. Barbara Lee had earlier in August 1999 introduced the original bill, H.R. 2765- The AIDS Marshall Plan Trust Fund Act in the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, only $20 million of the authorized $150 million was appropriated for the Fund. Clearly, the trust fund needs to be fully funded and expanded given the extraordinary dimensions of the global pandemic and its impact on Africa and other developing countries.
Public Law 106-264 had tremendous bi-partisan Congressional support in both chambers and received unanimous and pivotal support from the Congressional Black Caucus. The Constituency for Africa, building upon the AIDS Marshall Plan for Africa proposed by Ron Dellums in 1999, worked with other African advocacy organizations and African ambassadors in Washington to ensure the successful navigation of the legislative process.
The World Bank AIDS Trust Fund as envisaged by the Congress will address the major issues under discussion today such as: (1) the prevention and eradication of HIV/AIDS, (2) the care and treatment of individuals infected with HIV/AIDS, (3) the care, education and support of AIDS orphans, (4) the prevention of maternal-to-child transmissions, (5) the accelerated search for effective vaccines, (6) the role of durable partnerships between rich nations, multilateral banks, foundations, corporations, the civil society and African governments in leveraging resources, (7) the critical role of research and development, (7) and, the use of grants rather than loans to provide AIDS relief to the hardest hit nations in Africa and other places. Funds will also go toward the development of basic health care infrastructure in resource poor nations with high rates of infection.
To ensure probity and accountability, the World Bank AIDS Trust Fund will be managed by a board of trustees assisted by an advisory committee of eminent experts and stakeholders. These oversight bodies will ensure transparency in the grant-making process. They will also closely supervise the administrative staff of the Fund to ensure that AIDS-ravaged villages and communities benefit maximally from international relief efforts.
As the rich nations ponder their next steps, and African nations anxiously await their response, the existing World Bank AIDS Trust Fund mechanism should be a starting point of reference and negotiations. The Bush Administration should work closely with Kofi Annan, James Wolfensohn, the president of the World Bank, and the leaders of Western and African nations to jumpstart the implementation of the World Bank AIDS Trust Fund.
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During this consultation, compromises are inevitable in shaping the final modus operandi of the Fund, including critical issues such as the roles and responsibilities of the donor and recipient nations, the funding mechanisms, and the monitoring and evaluation instruments. The existing mechanism can shave off precious time that would otherwise be spent on developing a brand-new global fund. Every day that is saved has major implications for a disease that kills nearly 7000 people every day in Africa, and infects one Africa every 25 seconds.
Honorable Ron Dellums, the Chairman of the Constituency for Africa, Washington, DC served in the U.S. Congress for 27 years, and was the Chair of the Clinton Administration's White House Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS.
Chinua Akukwe, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Constituency for Africa, Washington, DC, and an adjunct professor of public health at the George Washington University, Washington, DC.
