"Asia Pacific Friends of the Global Fund" launched

On December 6, "Asia Pacific Friends of the Global Fund" was
launched in New Delhi. The Coordinator of "APAC Friends", Dr Bobby
John, describes the new organization as a regional civil society
platform for advocacy and communications around the Global Fund.

APAC Friends joins Friends of the Global Fight (US), Friends of the
Global Fund Japan and Amis du Fonds Mondial Europe, in a growing
network of organizations dedicated advocacy and support for the
Global Fund.

In a message announcing the new organization,Dr John said that "the
resolution to form the Asia Pacific Friends of the Global Fund
("APAC Friends") was taken at our meeting in New Delhi on the 6th of
December, 2005, after understanding:

1. the catalytic and crucial role that the Global Fund has in
shaping the response of our respective nations and of the asia
pacific region as a whole to the challenges posed by HIV,
tuberculosis and malaria, especially in involving the civil society
in this response;
2. that the asia pacific region is poised on the threshold of
tremendous economic growth, and that the three diseases can retard
the trajectory of the growth substantially;
3. that the responses of the nations in the region to tackle
these diseases will determine the outcomes of the global war against
them;
4. also that the region has within itself resources that can
be committed to the fight, in addition to the resources being put
forth by the global community;
5. that a regional civil society platform for advocacy was
best placed to urge greater commitment of resources by the
individual nations in the region to the fight against these 3
diseases; and
6. that a regional platform could articulate the concerns of
civil society within the asia pacific region to the global
community, especially the richer nations, and also to the Global
Fund Board and its Secretariat.

We as a group look forward to expanding our membership rapidly
within the region, and to work along with development partners
operating in the region, so as to articulate a representative voice
of the Asia Pacific civil society in support of the fight against
HIV, TB and Malaria so ably financed by the Global Fund."

The Global Fund Newsletter Issue #6 - December 2005