Top malaria control donors for 2011-2013
With the Global Fund and its major donors under some duress, there are perceptions and risks that sufficient anti-malaria funding may not be secured in the longer term to sustain the remarkable progress over the last decade. However, Devex found that overall support for malaria control should remain stable through 2013 – if donor governments can live up to their pledges.
Bill Gates’ recent announcement in Davos to donate $750 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was a huge boost to the organization during a critical time of internal leadership changes and fundraising uncertainty. Since 2002, the Global Fund has provided about $15.1 billion to 150 countries to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, attracting significant funding from the world’s major donors and leading the fight against all three diseases. Many development experts believe that the Global Fund’s progress in the fight against malaria is its most impressive accomplishment, resulting in a 25 percent decrease in malaria deaths between 2000 and 2010 and cutting malaria deaths by nearly a third in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the World Health Organization, the Global Fund allocates about 30 percent of its total resources to malaria, which represents over half of the total funding for malaria control across the world. Since the collapse of the first malaria eradication program in the 1970s, efforts to overhaul key programs and design new frameworks have brought the issue back to the forefront. Important actors like the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and the World Bank have undergone structural changes to improve their malaria outreach and programming. Other champions for the cause have been the U.N. Foundation’s “Nothing But Nets” campaign, the nongovernmental organization Malaria No More and influential people like George W. Bush, Gordon Brown, and Bill and Melinda Gates. Corporations such as Novartis, which has delivered over 400 million malaria treatments, Vestergaard Frandsen, which has provided about 135 million bed nets, and ExxonMobil, which has spent over $100 million on programs to counter malaria in developing countries, have also helped elevate the issue and made an enormous impact. This considerable support for malaria control eventually led to its inclusion as one of the three diseases to receive financial support from the Global Fund. The announcement and commitment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation could not have happened at a better time for the Global Fund, but fear remains that the worldwide fight against malaria could lose steam due to funding shortfalls. Just last week, the African Leaders Malaria Alliance, an alliance of 41 African governments working to halt malaria-related deaths on the continent, warned that funding gaps are threatening the malaria fight drive. ALMA asserts that there is an estimated gap of $3.3 billion in malaria funding and closing that gap is absolutely necessary to achieve and sustain universal coverage of essential malaria interventions. In a Wall Street Journal article about the Global Fund, leading development expert and economist Jeffrey Sachs said money for new grants is needed urgently because many poor countries have been preparing to scale up anti-malaria programs. “We can’t leave them out on the front lines without the armaments they need,” pleaded Sachs. Also last week, a report in the British medical journal the Lancet suggested that, while malaria rates are falling, worldwide malaria deaths could be double the previous estimates. The study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, concluded that about 1.24 million people actually died from the mosquito-borne disease in 2010 compared to the WHO estimate of 655,000 deaths. With the Global Fund and its major donors under some duress, there are perceptions and risks that sufficient anti-malaria funding may not be secured in the longer term to sustain the remarkable progress over the last decade. Reportedly, the Global Fund has only received $2.64 billion from all of its donors for 2011-2013, but is expecting $10 billion for that period. In light of all the scrutiny over the Global Fund and malaria, however, Devex examined the top malaria control donors for 2011-2013 (see chart) and found that overall support for malaria control should remain stable through 2013 if donor governments can live up to their pledges. It is important to note that while the Global Fund will continue to serve as the primary channel of intervention, major donors leverage other channels and often contribute anti-malaria funds bilaterally so the Global Fund’s condition is not the only valid metric to assess the global development community’s commitment to malaria control. The following is a rundown of the major malaria donors and their financial commitments between 2011 and 2013. United States The U.S. is the world’s top contributor of malaria-focused aid. Funding for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are a core component of U.S. President Barack Obama’s Global Health Initiative, where 81 percent, or $51 billion, of all GHI funding will go to combating the three diseases from 2009 through 2014. The U.S. is the single largest donor to the Global Fund, though U.S. bilateral spending on malaria far outweighs contributions to the Global Fund and other multilateral organizations such as WHO, UNICEF, and the GAVI Alliance. The 2008 Hyde-Lantos Act authorizes up to $5 billion between 2009 to 2013 for malaria prevention and control but most analysts agree that this amount will not be met in the current U.S. budget climate. In October 2010, the Obama administration pledged $4 billion to the Global Fund from 2011 to 2013, representing the first U.S. multi-year pledge and a 38 percent increase from the three preceding years. U.S. funding for the Global Fund in 2011 stood at $1.05 billion with malaria control programmed at roughly at $305 million. The total fiscal 2012 request for the Global Fund by the administration is $1.3 billion with approximately $377 million programmed for malaria control. American bilateral funding for malaria increased in 2011. The requested budget for 2012 is $691 million. The President’s Malaria Initiative, which comprises the largest portion of U.S. bilateral spending on malaria, is projected to remain steady at $620 million until 2013. United Kingdom Global health is a top priority of the U.K. government. Funding for reproductive, maternal and newborn health and malaria control are set to rise significantly by 2013. The U.K. provided $234 million to the Global Fund in 2011, of which $68 million was programmed for malaria control. For 2012, the U.K. pledged a total of $200 million to the Global Fund with an estimated $57 million allocated for malaria. While malaria funding decreased from 2011 to 2012, U.K. bilateral spending for malaria is set to rise. Based on the U.K.’s released country operational plans, health spending will increase from 580 million pounds ($916 million) to 756 million pounds from 2011 to 2014, respectively. In September 2010, U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that total U.K. spending on malaria would reach 500 million pounds by 2014. Other agencies receiving support for malaria are the World Bank, UNICEF and European Commission. France France is the leading European donor to the Global Fund and the second highest contributing donor after the U.S. Unlike the U.S. or U.K., France has a historically strong multilateral focus for malaria initiatives, contributing the bulk of its funding to the Global Fund. In 2011, France disbursed $470 million to the Global Fund and approximately $136 million for malaria. These funding levels are expected to remain steady until 2013. France is also the primary funder and leading founder of UNITAID, an international drug purchase facility which makes use of innovative financing through member-levied airline taxes to negotiate lower prices and purchase drugs for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. France’s donations comprise 60 percent of UNITAID’s budget and the country has pledged to contribute €110 million ($145 million) for 2011 to 2013. Germany Germany’s support for malaria initiatives is largely funded through the Global Fund. In November 2011, Germany fulfilled its €200 million ($262 million) commitment for 2011 after the country halted funding earlier that year in response to corruption allegations within the organization. Germany’s latest pledges followed the Global Fund’s adoption of a comprehensive plan to improve the organization’s oversight of grants. Germany has pledged €600 million to the Global Fund for the period 2011-2013. German donations for malaria control are estimated at $75 million per year for 2012 and 2013. Japan During the Millennium Development Goals U.N. Summit in New York, then Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan committed $800 million for the next several years to the Global Fund, representing a significant increase from the country’s previous pledge of $560 million. Japan’s Global Fund contribution from 2008 to 2010 was substantial at about $625 million but the contributions dropped to $144 million in 2011 due in part to the country’s economic problems brought about by the earthquake and tsunami. Under the “Kan Commitment,” malaria funding is expected to stand at about $97 million for 2012 and 2013. European Commission The EC malaria funds are primarily contributed through the Global Fund. In 2011, the EC disbursed $167 million to the Global Fund, an estimated $48 million of which was programmed for malaria. The commission pledged $130 million for 2012 and 2013. The EC is also a leader in malaria prevention through the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program, or FP7, which supports research projects such as developing combination treatment, rapid and simple diagnosis of malaria, and strategies to prevent pregnancy-associated malaria. For each year during the period 2007 to 2013, the EC plans to contribute about €20 million annually. Canada Following somewhat lackluster support in the early years, beginning in 2005 Canada emerged as a major contributor to the Global Fund with total pledges now amounting to $1.3 billion. Canada has committed $520 million to the Global Fund for the years 2011 to 2013 with an allocation of roughly $50 million programmed annually for malaria. The Canadian International Development Agency also supports malaria initiatives through funds to the Canadian Red Cross and UNICEF for the use of insecticide-treated bed nets, or ITNs, in Africa. World Bank Prior to the creation of the Global Fund, the World Bank was the largest funder of malaria prevention and control. The bank plans to provide steady funding of $51 million for 2011 to 2013 to support Phase II of its Booster Program for Malaria Control. This project supports country programs to design effective and scaled operations for controlling malaria. In 2005, the Bank allocated $763 million for malaria control in Africa that was applied over five years. In 2011, the bank pledged an additional $200 million for providing people in sub-Saharan Africa with more ITNs. Aileen Cruz contributed to this report. Read more: - Early intelligence, projects and tenders on malaria control and prevention - ‘A lot of fixing’ at the Global Fund - How anti-malaria bed nets were delivered to Zambia ahead of schedule - Wallpaper on malaria
Bill Gates’ recent announcement in Davos to donate $750 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was a huge boost to the organization during a critical time of internal leadership changes and fundraising uncertainty. Since 2002, the Global Fund has provided about $15.1 billion to 150 countries to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, attracting significant funding from the world’s major donors and leading the fight against all three diseases.
Many development experts believe that the Global Fund’s progress in the fight against malaria is its most impressive accomplishment, resulting in a 25 percent decrease in malaria deaths between 2000 and 2010 and cutting malaria deaths by nearly a third in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the World Health Organization, the Global Fund allocates about 30 percent of its total resources to malaria, which represents over half of the total funding for malaria control across the world.
Since the collapse of the first malaria eradication program in the 1970s, efforts to overhaul key programs and design new frameworks have brought the issue back to the forefront. Important actors like the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and the World Bank have undergone structural changes to improve their malaria outreach and programming. Other champions for the cause have been the U.N. Foundation’s “Nothing But Nets” campaign, the nongovernmental organization Malaria No More and influential people like George W. Bush, Gordon Brown, and Bill and Melinda Gates. Corporations such as Novartis, which has delivered over 400 million malaria treatments, Vestergaard Frandsen, which has provided about 135 million bed nets, and ExxonMobil, which has spent over $100 million on programs to counter malaria in developing countries, have also helped elevate the issue and made an enormous impact. This considerable support for malaria control eventually led to its inclusion as one of the three diseases to receive financial support from the Global Fund.
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Former director of global advisory and analysis, Pete managed all Devex research and analysis operations worldwide and monitors key trends in the global development business. Prior to joining Devex, Pete was a political and security risk consultant with a focus on Southeast Asia. He has also advised the U.S. government on foreign policy and led projects for the Asian Development Bank and International Finance Corp. He still consults for Devex on a project basis.
