Global Fund at 20: Ghana hands over celebratory torch to Morocco

Ghana has handed over a torch to Morocco as part of celebrations of the 20^th anniversary of the Global Fund.

At a hybrid ceremony held simultaneously in Accra and Morocco, the Minister of Health in a speech read on his behalf stated that Ghana has benefited significantly from many Global Fund initiatives that have helped to save the lives of citizens.

“At the last grant, Ghana was granted $304 million for HIV, TB, and Malaria interventions in facilities and communities in both private and public sectors. This is aside from that $65 million that has been recently allocated for the COVID-19 response in Ghana. Today, we have received more than $1.2 billion in allocated funding to sustain our health system and ensure the smooth delivery of services and program implementation for its three diseases.”

The minister also gave assurances that the government will continue to partner with Global Fund to ensure that their money works to save lives.

The Executive Director of Hope for Future Generations (HFFG), Madam Cecilia Senoo, said the partnership between Ghana and the Global Fund has significantly improved healthcare delivery in the country, specifically in HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

“Since Ghana received its first-ever Global Fund grant in 2002, the country has made significant strides and the results are evident. The current adult (15 – 49 years) HIV prevalence in Ghana stands at 1.7%. A remarkable decline from what used to be between 1.9% and 5.0% around 2003 according to UNAIDS report.”

“Through the Community Systems Strengthening program and other interventions led by CSOs and Ghana Health Service under the Global Fund grant, Persons living with HIV and people infected by TB and malaria can live without fear because of access to free HIV, TB, and Malaria care,” she said.

The Ghana National TB Voice Network also lauded the Global Fund for the contributions made in the area of TB HIV/AIDS and Malaria all over Africa, especially Ghana.

It said it “is certain that through the continuous support of the Global Fund, we can contribute our quota significantly towards attaining the global target of ending TB by 2035 through active case finding, contact tracing, proving treatment support to our clients, bringing defaulters back to treatment and elimination of TB related stigma through community engagement and education.”

Created in 2002, the Global Fund has supported 155 countries and regional grants as of June 2021 to fight HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria with more than $50 billion, making it one of the largest funders of global health.

In Ghana, the fund has supported the fight against the three diseases with over $1 billion, while helping to strengthen health systems across the 155 countries.