The Global Fund, which has directly invested in 150 countries and regions, provides two-thirds of the international funding for tuberculosis services, and one-fifth of the total international funds for malaria and HIV services, www.honju.net. The report states that the Global Fund plays an important role in linking health systems and social systems; the fund has been promoting human rights and understanding the impact of infections on nations, coordinating mechanisms for HIV with powerful strength. The report says these principles and methods are "universally welcomed" in the new Global Fund strategy for 2012-2016, which aims to save the lives of 100,000 people by 2016. The coalition also stated that governments must invest more in their own HIV responses; and bilateral donors must immediately take steps to fill the critical gaps in HIV services created by the Global Fund's financial crisis. Coalition Executive Director Alvaro Bermejo said in the report, as a result of the Global Fund's financial crisis, the scale of the global response to HIV will be significantly affected, and important existing services will be reduced or eliminated - unless urgent measures are taken. This is the central idea of the well-written and purely spoken report issued by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance on January 24, 2012. In November 2011, the Global Fund canceled Round 11 and stated that no new grants would be available until 2014. From the coalition's report, this news was like a major scientific breakthrough and signs of real progress had just begun to generate the most widespread optimism in the history of the AIDS epidemic. "Now," the report said, "all hopes for entering a new phase in responding to HIV have effectively been put on hold until at least 2014, and progress in many areas may actually reverse. The impact on individuals and communities will be devastating." The report, titled "Don't Stop Now: The Impact of Underfunding the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on the HIV Response," is available here on the coalition's website. This report is based on data from national coalitions' operations, including in-depth impact studies from five countries: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. "For donors and other stakeholders to reduce funding for the HIV response during economically difficult times is short-sighted and counterproductive," the report said. "While trillions have been found by governments to bail out reckless financial sectors, donors have left the Global Fund underfunded to save millions of lives. The Global Fund is the best mechanism to realize the possibility of a world without AIDS, but it can only do so with sufficient investment." In the report, the coalition also said that the Global Fund must have a more effective financial early warning system to ensure that when donation commitments are not met, they can raise alarms. "We must never again find ourselves in a position where life-saving programs are canceled or delayed without emergency plans and support for affected countries." However, the report states that the cancellation of Round 11, combined with other measures taken by the Global Fund - such as strict rules for grant renewals - means that the fund will not be able to support any new HIV, tuberculosis, or malaria services. Furthermore, the report claims that programs like HIV care and support, basic programs, will be interrupted because they are not considered "essential" according to the rules of the fund's Transitional Financing Mechanism (TFM). For the same reason, the report says that important advocacy and legal work combating stigma and discrimination, enabling people to access services, may also lose funding; and social efforts to address many drivers of epidemics - such as interventions focusing on protection, education, and gender equality - "will be left unfinished." The International HIV/AIDS Alliance says that progress in many areas is in danger of being overturned. The coalition calls on donor countries to honor their existing commitments and increase their contributions, making about $2 billion available for the Global Fund to create a new fundraising opportunity in 2012. Specifically, the coalition says that donors must accelerate delivery of their contributions, donors who have not yet made commitments, especially G20 countries, should do so; donors should urgently replenish before the International AIDS Conference hosted in July 2012; and donors should consider measures proposed by several countries, such as financial transaction taxes, to increase funding sources. "We urgently need donors to replenish the Global Fund and governments to strengthen their HIV/AIDS responses and provide funding, or we face a collective responsibility and betrayal of the commitment to the weakest in our societies and those affected by HIV around the world." The report describes the impact of the funding crisis on individual countries. For example, in Bolivia, prevention activities targeting key populations, such as men who have sex with men and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) populations, which are at the center of the country's HIV epidemic, will be disrupted. Moreover, opportunities for expanding outreach work to other populations currently not accessing formal healthcare facilities - such as prisoners, street youth, and indigenous peoples - will be lost. Finally, important research programs providing insights into the HIV epidemic will be canceled. Bilateral donors are urged to fill service gaps. Related thematic articles: Online marketing and website promotion ideas A complete service network that has existed since 1998! We cannot find how much scientifically evidenced support there is for common recommendations Pressure from China and abroad drives changes at Foxconn How much sleep do teenagers really need? Maybe less than you think