New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will provide another chance to Burma to reapply for financial assistance.
“Burma is being given the right to apply in keeping with our guideline and policy,” Gaviria, Global Fund’s Burma programme officer in Geneva told Mizzima on Tuesday.
Global Fund in 2005 pulled out of military-ruled Burma, because of the increasing restrictions by the regime on its aid workers and the lack of access to information on how its money was being spent.
But after cutting all ties for the past three years, Global Fund in February sent a delegation to evaluate the situation of health care in Burma and announced that it will accept an application for financial assistance.
Gaviria said, Global Fund is waiting for Burma’s application which will be routed through Myanmar Country Coordinating Mechanism (MCCM), a coalition of representatives of the United Nations agencies, Government ministries and International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs).
She said the deadline for sending the application is June 1, but “so far, we have not received any application from them [MCCM].”
In 2004, Global Fund had agreed to spend $ 100 million over five years to combat diseases in Burma. But, Global Fund withdrew its funding programme in 2005 after a row between the group and Burmese junta broke out over restrictions imposed on aid workers.
But in February a delegation from Global Fund led by William Paton, director of country programmes, visited Burma and held talks with members of MCCM, which is the principle fund recipient and had already operated in the country on the Anti-AIDS programme.
“Our mission is to evaluate the Myanmar [Burma] situation and to discuss with MCCM, to meet its members and to access their ability,” Gaviria said.
According to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) report ‘A Preventable Fate: the Failure of ART Scale-up in Myanmar’ released in November last year, 240,000 people are living with HIV in Burma and 76,000 are in urgent need of life-saving anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
At least 25,000 die every year from HIV, according to the report.
MSF said, only 20 percent of HIV patients in Burma have access to ART, saying “MSF can no longer take primary responsibility for ART scale-up in Myanmar [Burma].”
Gaviria said, considering the high rate of health risk in Burma, Global Fund reallowed Burma to apply for the fund but there will be a long process to reach the stage in which the fund can be easily granted.
“We will evaluate the application on its technical merit. If the application is approved by the board, then we will negotiate the grant with the country,” she said, “If everything is successful, then the grant will be accepted.”
