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CSOs urge Ghana to commit to Global Fund replenishment

Civil society and non-governmental organisations in the fight against HIV, Malaria and Tuberculosis (TB) yesterday made a passionate appeal to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to make a pledge of $2 million on behalf of Ghana at the forthcoming 7th Global Fund (GF) Replenishment conference in New York, USA. 

President Akufo-Addo is expected to join other world leaders at the invitation of US President Joe Biden to the GF conference where $18 billion is expected to be raised through pledges by the leaders to support the worldwide fight and save 20 million lives from HIV, TB and malaria.

These came to light at the CSOs Media engagement organised by Hope For Future Generations (HFFG) and Global Fund Advocacy Network (gfan), both NGOs to beef up the campaign for Ghana to be a part of the fight against the three diseases across the world.

Among the participating CSOs and NGOs were Ghana TB Voice Network, NAP+, Stop TB Partnership, GHANET, Young Health Advocates Ghana, and NSA Ghana with others joining virtually.
 

The convener and Executive Director of HFFG, Mrs Cecelia Senoo, in her presentation said the two-day conference to be hosted by President Biden would have in attendance donors, implementing countries and board members of the fund at which the target amount of $ 18 billion dollars is to be realised.

Mrs Senoo who is also a board member of the GF, conceded that Ghana was confronted with numerous challenges which had impacted the country negatively, particularly the COVID- 19 pandemic and the external factors of the Russia-Ukraine war, it would be worthy of Ghana to make a pledge at the conference.

She said as at September 2022, the Global Fund had invested more than US $ 1.2 billion to support the national HIV, TB and malaria programmes and strengthened the country’s health systems.

In response to this call, she said many countries had made pledges, adding it was time that Ghana follow suite, because the country was a major beneficiary of the Global Fund programmes, since it was initiated by Ghana’s Kofi Annan, the late UN Secretary General in 2002.

Mr Ortsin said Ghana must, therefore, support the GF to continuously support the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) and the entire health system as far as the three diseases were concerned.

BY NORMAN COOPER

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