The pledge by G8 leaders to spend $60 billion (€45 billion) fighting Aids, TB and malaria has been welcomed by Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria officials visiting Ireland, writes Mary Fitzgerald, Foreign Affairs Correspondent.
The delegation was in Dublin yesterday to meet officials from Irish Aid, the Department of Foreign Affairs' overseas aid division.
Under proposals outlined at the G8 summit yesterday, the fund will receive a $6-8 billion budget by 2010 - a threefold increase on current levels
The fund, which receives contributions from governments, the corporate sector and private foundations, has committed $7.6 billion since its inception in 2001, to support prevention and treatment programmes in more than 130 countries. The fund has received €60 million to date from Irish Aid.
A further €20 million has been committed in 2007. The fund's chief financial officer, Cork-born Barry Greene, welcomed the G8 pledge but said he hoped it would be followed through. "It is certainly grounds for optimism," he said.
"We will wait to see it translated into individual donations. The countries will be under strong moral pressure to meet this commitment and if they follow through, it will make a major difference."