Ending the epidemics is a greater challenge than achieving progress: Dybul
aidspan.org - "Executive Director Mark Dybul challenges the Global Fund to do better. He provided the Board with a report that celebrated the Global Fund’s achievements but also challenged the Fund to do better on a number of fronts.
Dybul said that the partnership the Global Fund has established has produced extraordinary results: more than 17 million lives saved through 2014. The Global Fund is recognized for innovation and for aligning well with country priorities and communicating frequently with governments, he said.
However, he added, “We need to acknowledge that setting up a partnership model was in itself not enough. We have to continue to innovate, to work faster, better, and smarter. Achieving progress in the last decade was relatively easy because the need was so great and the impact was clear and visible. However, ending epidemics is a greater challenge, and for HIV and tuberculosis it requires dealing with deep-seated socio-cultural issues. The last mile is always the most difficult, and can be the most expensive. To end these epidemics by 2030, our investments have to be more focused, nuanced, and interwoven.”
Dybul said that a person-centered approach is at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals. “A child fleeing Syria or Somalia needs food, education, shelter, health,” he said. “More important, that child and her family and community need investment in systems that provide elements of basic human dignity, and that help stabilize a society so that fewer people need to flee in the first place.” Dybul said that to serve the person, the Global Fund must make smart long-term investments in health and human rights."