Open Letter to German MEPs: Transparent financing for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
3 February 2010: To the rapporteurs for section 23 of the Federal Budget Committee of the German Parliament
The rapporteurs:
- Mr Dr. Dietmar Bartsch, MdB
- Mr Lothar Binding, MdB
- Ms Priska Hinz, MdB
- Mr Volkmar Klein, MdB
- Mr Dr. Jürgen Koppelin, MdB
Dear Sir/Madam,
since its founding the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has proven an effective and efficient instrument for combating these three diseases: its lifesaving measures have reached 4.9 million people. The country programmes financed by the fund have provided antiretroviral treatment to 2.5 million people afflicted with HIV/AIDS, treatment for tuberculosis to 6 million people, and more than 100 million mosquito nets as protection against malaria.
We are, therefore, exceedingly shocked to discover that the draft of the German federal budget for 2010 proposes a massive reduction in the amount designated for the Global Fund! Instead of the 200 million Euros allocated in the past, it has now been proposed to reduce the amount to only 142 million Euros. This would mean a reduction of 29%, in spite of the fact that the German government signed a binding commitment at the Global Fund Donor Conference in 2007 promising to provide the fund with 200 million Euros per year from 2008 to 2010.
We welcome the statements from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) that, despite the budgetary change,
Germany will honour the promises it made in 2007. Nevertheless, we consider it inappropriate and alarming if a considerable portion of these commitments are to be financed through ‘Planungsressourcen and surplus funds’. There are several good reasons for our standpoint:
- The uncertainty of verbal agreements
It could happen that in times of difficult budgets merely verbal assurances of access to Planungsressourcen and surplus funds may be less certain than concrete budget allocations.
- The distorted picture serving as a basis fort he 2011 budget
A low budget estimate fort he Global Fund in 2010 would create the impression of massive increases in 2011, even if funding commitments were not raised but merely fulfilled.
- The signal to other countries
The next donor conference fort he Global Fund takes place in New York in 2010. This German federal budget reduction – be it only ‘a matter of formality’ – would signal a disastrous movement in the wrong direction rather tan incite the members of this donor conference towards the indispensable increase in funding.
- The principles of truth and transparency in the budget
Especially you, as a steward of the budget, should be interested in avoiding passing a budget in which the government declares something that does not correspond to is intentions. This would contradict the principles of good budgeting and transparency.
With these points in mind, we are writing you today as German NGOs (nongovernment organizations) in the sectors of development and disaster relief. Germany must not fall behind its previous commitments. At least 200 million Euros must flow into the fund in 2010. The actual need for financial aid is even much higher.Therefore, dear Ms Hinz and others, we ask you to do all you can to ensure that the federal budget for 2010 again explicitly allocates 200 million Euros to the Global Fund. Please ensure that efforts towards disease prevention and medical treatment for millions of people are given a secure and transparent basis. We would be very happy speak to you personally at any time to explain and discuss our position on this matter of great concern.
Yours sincerely
Birgit Dederichs-Bain
- Action for Global Health Deutschland
Bernd Pastors
- action medeor e.V.
- Deutsches Medikamenten-Hilfswerk
Astrid Berner-Rodoreda, Dr. Christiane Fischer, Karl-Heinz Hein-Rothenbücher,
Beate Ramme-Fülle and Manfred Weber
- Aktionsbündnis gegen Aids
Oliver Moldenhauer
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen
Miriam Wagner
- Christoffel-Blindenmission Deutschland e.V.
Silke Klumb
- Deutsche AIDS- Hilfe e.V.
Dr. Gisela Schneider
- Deutsches Institut für ärztliche Mission
Thomas Gebauer
- medico international
Tobias Kahler
- One
Paul Bendix
- Oxfam Deutschland
Marwin Meier
- WORLD VISION Deutschland e.V.