Please read the attached statement asking for emergency funding from
the Japanese Government to fill the current USD 5 Billion + funding
gap faced by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The deadline is the noon in Japanese standard time ( = GMT 3am) on
June 26. Please send your ORGANIZATIONAL endorsements to:
project.ring@gmail.com
<Background>
In April of 2008, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda pledged USD 560 Million
in the coming few years to the Global Fund. In March 2009, Japan has
begun rolling out this money for FY 2009 with USD 194.4 Million
towards the Global Fund. However, this is amount provided too slow and
too low from the fair share of Japan, and far from addressing the
current funding gap of the Global Fund.
Now the Global Fund is facing a 5 billion USD funding shortfall,
mainly due to the insufficient commitment from donor countries. Major
donor countries including Japan must provide emergency funding to fill
the shortfall.
Thus, we are calling on Japan to provide emergency funding for the
USD 5 Billion + gap faced by the Global Fund; and to ensure that Japan
pays the remaining USD 316 Million by calendar year 2010 and to make a
new commitment in calendar year 2010 to an amount that is equal or
above to Japan's fair share for funding term beyond 2010.
This statement will be sent to Mr. Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan
through Ministry of Foreign Affairs; we have set the meeting with Mr.
Masato Kitera, the Director General of Int'l Cooperation Bureau of
MoFA on June 30.
We are hoping for your organizational endorsement to ensure that Japan
will keep its commitment in the fight against the AIDS, Malaria and
Tuberculosis.
Thank you for your solidarity!
Masaki Inaba
Project RING, Japan AIDS and Society Association (JASA)
Africa Japan Forum (AJF)
Aki Ogawa
Project RING, Japan AIDS and Society Association (JASA)
Africa Japan Forum (AJF)
****************************************
<The Letter> Please also see the attached file
His Excellency Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan,
His Excellency Hirofumi Nakasone, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan,
An Open Letter to the Government of Japan
on the Needs of Resource Mobilization for the Global Fund
Human security has always stood at the heart of Japanese policy;
reaching out to provide aid or standing in solidarity at times when
human security is threatened. In the wake of the 2004 Asian tsunami
disaster, Japan provided USD 500 Million in grant aid to the thousands
affected by the giant waves smashing into the coast lines. Most
recently, when the economic crisis threatened the stability of the
world, Japan declared a USD 17 Billion aid package to help Asian
countries weather the economic downturn. Japan has quickly stepped up
to the plate, providing unprecedented amount of emergency fund when
catastrophes that shake the very foundations of human security occur.
Today, we write to you of another crisis the world is facing: A 5
Billion+ funding gap (2008-2010) of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Malaria and Tuberculosis, the leading financial institution in the
fight against the three most infectious diseases.
The Global Fund has begun to turn the tide against the three most
infectious diseases that until its inception caused five million
deaths every year, and have undermined the social, political and
economic foundation and progress of countries. Seven years since the
birth of the Global Fund, the Global Fund has approved the funding of
USD 11.4 Billion for more than 550 programs in 136 countries, and is
now responsible for a quarter of international financing for AIDS
globally, two-thirds for tuberculosis, and three-quarters for malaria.
To date the Global Fund has been responsible for:
i. Providing anti-retroviral treatments for two million people living
with HIV/AIDS;
ii. Detecting and treating 4.6 million cases of infectious Tuberculosis;
iii. Distributing 70 million insecticide treated bed nets and 74
million on treatment for malaria
However, this progress towards the attainment of Millennium
Development Goal 6 and Universal Access to HIV/AIDS prevention,
treatment and care by 2010 is now under threat without an immediate
USD 5 Billion + funding from the leading G8 countries.
In addition to the tremendous human toll, the economical impact is the
loss of productivity due to tuberculosis drains USD 16 billion from
the annual incomes of the world's poorest communities, while resource
needs to fight the disease are estimated to be USD 4.2 billion in
2009. The economic impacts of malaria are estimated to cost African
countries USD 12 billion per year in lost GDP; compare that to USD 3.4
billion needed to prevent such losses. Finally, AIDS threatens to
reduce GDP in African countries by up to 2.6%.
In April of 2008, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda pledged USD 560 Million
in the coming few years to the Global Fund. In March 2009, Japan has
begun rolling out this money for fiscal year 2009 with USD 194 Million
toward the Global Fund. However this is an amount provided too slow
and too low, and far from addressing the current funding gap crisis of
the Global Fund.
Today, we call upon the Japanese Government, once again, to answer to
this emergency that is threatening human security by filling the gap
of the Global Fund:
1. Provide emergency funding for the USD 5 Billion + gap faced by the
Global Fund and call upon fellow G8 countries to also ensure that the
funding gap is filled.
2. To ensure that this crisis will never happen again by paying the
remaining USD 316 Million by calendar year 2010 and to make a new
commitment in calendar year 2010 to an amount that is equal or above
Japan's fair share for funding term beyond 2010 and set a deadline for
this payment.
Prof. Masayoshi Tarui
President, Project RING
Japan AIDS and Society Association
Dr. Tatsuo Hayashi
President, Africa Japan Forum
Dr. Miriam Were
Laureate
Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize
Prof. Brian Greenwood
Laureate
Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize
(Signatures of Japanese NGOs)
Africa Japan Forum
Project RING, Japan AIDS and Society Association
World Vision Japan
SHARE (Services on Health in Asia and African Regions)
Stop TB Partnership Japan
Japan International Volunteer Center
Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR)
International Women's Year Liaison Group Japan
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