UN-backed Global Fund terminates grants to Myanmar
The United Nations-backed Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has terminated grant agreements with Myanmar totalling more than $35 million because it said its programme could not be managed effectively given new restrictions.
The Fund, a unique public-private partnership created three years ago on the initiative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said in a statement that its decision means that three grants – one each for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria with a total value of $35.7 over two years – will be phased out by the end of the year. It said the decision was taken after consultations with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), which is the Principal Recipient, meaning that it is responsible for grant implementation in the country.
“Both the Global Fund and UNDP are very concerned about the tremendous need to provide humanitarian assistance and to prevent further spread of the three diseases in Myanmar,” said Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “It is therefore with considerable regret that the Global Fund, after consultations with UNDP and other international partners, has had to terminate its grants to Myanmar.”
In July this year, the Government of Myanmar instituted new travel clearance procedures which will have the effect of restricting access to grant implementation areas by the Principal Recipient, the staff of implementing partners and the Global Fund staff. In addition, authorities also imposed new review procedures for the procurement of medical and other supplies.
The Fund said that the new measures were a breach of the government’s written commitment to provide unencumbered access and that they would prevent the Fund from implementing performance-based and time-bound programs in the country.
It also noted that the travel restrictions appear to be the most recent manifestation of a gradual change in the Government’s attitude towards international and national humanitarian efforts in Myanmar in recent weeks.