“For the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Fund [to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria] is an invaluable partner, and the progress they have achieved is bringing us closer than ever to the reality of global health equity,” Joe Cerrell, director of the Gates Foundation’s European office, writes in an AlertNet opinion piece, adding, “Every day, programs supported by the Global Fund save at least 4,400 lives.”

Noting the Global Fund-commissioned independent review panel that recently released “recommendations, which were in line with the Global Fund’s own reform agenda, [and] were met by the Global Fund Board with great openness,” Cerrell writes, “It’s unrealistic to expect no operational challenges when you’re dealing with billions of dollars in aid in difficult environments. It’s how you deal with those challenges that count, and so yet again this is where the Fund is setting the standards.” He concludes, “With continued efforts to enhance strong oversight and support for effective governance, we can improve on the Global Fund’s impressive record and ensure that millions more lives are saved and the progress against global disease is secured for generations to come” (10/4).