SWISS PLATFORM HIV/AIDS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

1. December 2013

I am pleased to be able bring you very good news just before Christmas: Switzerland increases its contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to 60 million Swiss francs for the years 2014-2016. The Steering Committee and the coordinator of aidsfocus.ch are very happy about this success, to which the advocacy work of aidsfocus.ch contributed.

You may remember: A year ago, on 12 December 2012 at the annual meeting of aidsfocus.ch on the Global Fund, the partners of aidsfocus.ch discussed with Michael O'Connor (Global Fund) and Marc de Santis (SDC) the need for a strengthened Global Fund. The partners of aidsfocus.ch decided to write a letter to Martin Dahinden, Director of SDC, to increase Switzerland's contribution to the Global Fund to 50 million Swiss Francs. In May, 2013, on the occasion of the visit of Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund, to Federal Councilor Didier Burkhalter, aidsfocus.ch was invited as representative of civil society organizations at a roundtable. In between, there have been calls and e-mails with the various stakeholders.

To achieve the increase of the Swiss contribution, it was crucial that different actors worked together and within their sphere of influence towards a common goal: Strengthening the Global Fund to save lives.

Jan Van Damme, Donor Relations Officer at the Global Fund in Geneva analyzed in an email to aidsfocus.ch the interplay of the various factors that have contributed to the success:

“The increase to CHF 60 million is indeed an extraordinary achievement. I think what did it in the end is that all parties were aligned:

• SDC had committed to substantially increase and has some very engaged people at different levels who gave their utmost - The hosting of the Mid-term Review of the 3rd Replenishment in Geneva, in November 2012, which clearly raised the level of awareness in the Swiss government - The civil society had been fighting for an increase for years and – thanks to you – did some very useful outreach, which paid off - Some key-parliamentarians were convinced for the cause and did a real effort to pass the message - Another donor government reached out to SDC with a plea for Switzerland to join the momentum

Then there was the strategic timing and coordination for the many and regular meetings, calls and emails, and for the messaging. The general enthusiasm with donors, partners and implementers around the need for funding combined with the returned confidence in the Global Fund complete the picture.”

I would like to thank the partners and the Steering Committee of aidsfocus.ch for their commitment.

With my best wishes for a happy holiday season

Helena Zweifel Coordinator aidsfocus.ch Executive Director of the Network Medicus Mundi Switzerland

Bern, 13 December 2013 - The Federal Council has approved a contribution of CHF 60 million for the 2014-2016 period for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). Switzerland was one of the founders of the Geneva-based fund in 2002 and has been one of its key partners since the beginning. Malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis remain the leading causes of death in sub-Saharan Africa. These three diseases are among the most important factors hampering development. The fight against malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis is a high priority for international development cooperation as well as for Switzerland. The significant progress achieved so far can no doubt be attributed amongst others to the efforts of GFATM, which is the biggest backer in the fight against these three diseases.

http://www.news.admin.ch

Geneva, 16 December 2013 – Switzerland escalated its pledge to 60 million Swiss francs (US$68 million) over the next three years. Compared with its pledge of 21 million Swiss francs three years ago, the new commitment represents almost a tripling of Switzerland’s contribution. “Switzerland is very committed to the mandate of the Global Fund and to the fight against the three diseases,” said Ambassador Martin Dahinden, Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. “Switzerland considers it a great privilege to host the Global Fund Secretariat in Geneva, where it has marked its place among other key-stakeholders in global health.” On top of that, the Swiss pledge unlocks about US$34 million in additional contributions from the United States, and about US$10 million from the United Kingdom. Each country devised their pledges in a way that partially matches additional contributions by other donors.

http://www.theglobalfund.org

aidsfocus.ch / Bern, 13. Dezember 2013 – Die schweizerische Fachplattform aidsfocus.ch begrüsst den Entscheid des Bundesrats, den Beitrag der Schweiz zum Global Fund zur Bekämpfung von Aids, Tuberkulose und Malaria von 10 Millionen Franken im Jahr 2013 auf 20 Millionen jährlich zu verdoppeln. Damit setzt die Schweiz ein Zeichen für ihren politischen Willen und ihr Engagement, einen relevanten Beitrag zu leisten, damit alle Menschen weltweit ein möglichst gesundes Leben führen können. Die Stärkung des Global Fund auch durch die Schweiz ist ein wichtiger Schritt in die richtige Richtung zur Überwindung dieser Krankheiten. Die in der Fachplattform aidsfocus.ch zusammengeschlossenen Organisationen werden sich weiter dafür einsetzen, dass ein künftige Welt ohne Aids Wirklichkeit wird.

http://www.aidsfocus.ch

Partner organisations: AIDS & Child, Caritas Switzerland, CO-OPERAID, Déclaration de Berne, FEPA, Fédération Genevoise de Coopération, Gemeinschaft St. Anna-Schwestern, IAMANEH Switzerland, Kindernothilfe Schweiz, Kwa Wazee, medico international Switzerland, mediCuba-Suisse, missio, mission21, SolidarMed, Swiss Aids Care International, Swiss Aids Federation, Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund, Swiss Catholic Women’s League, Swiss MIVA, Swiss Red Cross, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (SwissTPH), Tear Fund, Terre des hommes Foundation, terre des hommes schweiz, and World Vision Switzerland.

http://www.aidsfocus.ch