[e-drug] The Global Fund : A Means To Control Developing Countries (cont)

[lkasonde@unicef.org]

E-drug: The Global Fund : A Means To Control Developing Countries (cont)
---------------------------------------------

It is a sad reality that the Global Fund may not have achieved it's funding
targets   due   to   political  and  other  factors  that  influence  donor
governments, but coming from a developing country, it can only be said that
5% of US$10 billion is better than 5% of nothing.

With  the  current  donor fatigue and disinterest in helping vastly corrupt
governments,  pledges of any sort would not have been made without the June
2001  UNGA Special Session and the creation of a Global Fund to fight AIDS,
TB,  and  Malaria.  Moreover,  an  initiative  that has been doomed to fail
before  it  is  fully  put  into  force  will  inevitably fall short of its
illogical expectations.

The  Fund  Board  (which  admittedly  is  disproportionately represented by
developed  countries)  is  currently  holding a meeting in Geneva that will
attempt  to  decide  upon  the  best  methods for disbursement of funds and
procurement  of drugs for its recipient countries. In doing so it must bear
in  mind  factors that will affect whether or not life saving drugs can get
from  manufacturers  to  end  users ? a process which can go wrong from the
start  if  the  money is received and diverted; in the interim if drugs are
purchased  and  diverted,  lost, stolen or resold; and with the end user if
drugs  of  poor  quality  are  purchased, arrive safely, are used and cause
harmful or even fatal damages to patients.

If  developing  country  governments  are indeed displeased with the prices
they  are  encouraged  to pay for branded products, there are several price
comparison  initiatives  to enable them to select drugs of the best quality
(for  example  as  pre-qualified by WHO) and with the best value for money,
bearing in mind that generic often but not always equates to cheapest.

In conclusion, although transparency is habitually not the forte of such
organs as the Global Fund, let us recognize and in doing so hold back
criticism of the work the Global Fund and its members are doing in trying
to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. A task so incredible that many developing
country governments themselves avoided tackling it. The Global Fund is
after all a coalition of governments and therefore unlike an NGO,
philanthropy comes with a hidden price tag.

Lombe Kasonde
lkasonde@yahoo.com
Miss Lombe Kasonde, Pharmaceuticals Consultant
UNICEF Supply Division
Copenhagen, DK
Email: lkasonde@unicef.org
Tel: +45 35 27 30 30
Fax: +45 35 26 94 21
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