New Delhi, December 09: International financing institution Global Fund on Tuesday announced a grant of USD 279.5 million for India to fight AIDs, TB and Malaria, taking the total funding to USD 1.2 billion during the past seven years.
Out of the total USD 279.5 million new aid, USD 128.5 million is for the new programmes while the remaining USD 151 million is for continuation of the existing healthcare initiatives, Global Fund Team Leader South and West Asia Taufiqur Rahman told reporter here on Tuesday.
Of the grants approved for new programmes, USD 69.4 million will be for expanding care and treatment services for TB patients, particularly for multi-drug resistance TB, Rahman added.
The second major component of USD 21 million is for HIV-AIDS and would also give another USD 18.6 for vulnerable communities including sex workers and transgenders under the HIV-AIDS head.
The institution would also provide another USD 38.1 million for malaria prevention and treatment efforts in the Northeatern seven states. “This includes efforts to achieve near universal coverage of long lasting insecticide treated nets by 2015 in these states,” Rahman said.
–Agencies