GAO report: Global AIDS fund lacks resources

A new report by the General Accounting Office shows that while the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has made noteworthy progress since its inception in 2002, it faces difficulty in funding new programs because of a significant lack of resources, The Boston Globe reports. The report was requested by Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) to help Congress decide how to best spend a proposed $15 billion for international AIDS relief. The 51-page report says the fund does not have the estimated $1.4 billion it needs this year to distribute a third round of funding grants, nor does it have the estimated $3.3 billion needed next year. "Pledges made for this year are insufficient to cover more than a small number of additional grants," the report says. It also indicates that without significant new pledges, the fund would not be able to complete projects it already has begun. The United States has so far pledged $1.65 billion to the fund. Legislation currently being considered in Congress calls for additional grants of up to $1 billion a year for the next five years.