NEW DEBT RELIEF PROJECT FOR HEALTH PROGRAMMES LAUNCHED BY UN-BACKED FUND

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NEW DEBT RELIEF PROJECT FOR HEALTH PROGRAMMES LAUNCHED BY UN-BACKED FUND
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Germany and Indonesia signed a debt conversion accord today, breaking new ground in financing the war on the world?s three most dangerous infectious diseases by tying 50 million Euros of debt relief to Indonesia?s investment of half of that money into health programmes through the United Nations-backed Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Germany is the first donor to support the debt conversion programme of the Global Fund, launched at the G8 summit of industrialized nations in 2001 at the urging of then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and has worked alongside the Fund to develop the concept and modalities of the Debt2Health Initiative. Indonesia is a pilot country of the initiative.

?Debt2Health is a win-win situation for all: it increases predictability for the Global Fund to do its important work, Indonesia strengthens the health system in the country and Germany lives up to its responsibility in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria,? German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said.

The idea behind Debt2Health is to apply the well-established instrument of debt swaps to financing public health programmes, Global Fund Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine said. ?A significant number of countries which do not qualify for debt relief through existing multilateral initiatives still spend as much as a fifth of their export earnings on servicing debt while at the same time struggling with high disease burdens. <script><!-- D(["mb","\u003c/font\>\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>?Debt2Health makes it possible for a country\nto receive economic relief while its citizens benefit from health services.\nThis type of investment in health promises tremendous benefits for all,?\nhe added. \u003c/font\>\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>In April, the Fund?s Board approved a two-year\npilot phase for Debt2Health in up to four countries. While Indonesia is\nthe first to have completed a deal, Kenya, Pakistan and Peru are lined\nup to benefit from this new financing initiative during its pilot phase.\n\u003c/font\>\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>* * *\u003c/font\>\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>UN REFUGEE CHIEF CALLS FOR EARLY DEPLOYMENT\nOF NEW PEACE FORCE IN CHAD, CAR\u003c/font\>\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>The top United Nations refugee official has\ncalled for the early deployment of a new peacekeeping force in Chad and\nCentral African Republic (CAR) authorized to protect civilians and facilitate\nthe provision of aid amid a ?very difficult and serious? humanitarian\nsituation. \u003c/font\>\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner\nfor Refugees (UNHCR), welcomed yesterday?s adoption of a Security Council\nresolution establishing the multi-dimensional UN Mission in Chad and CAR\n(MINURCAT), which will include European Union military forces, to help\nalleviate the plight of thousands of people uprooted due to insecurity\nin the two countries and neighbouring Sudan. \u003c/font\>\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>Since 2004, eastern Chad has hosted some\n240,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps who have fled the fighting in Darfur,\nUNHCR reported in a press release. The country is also facing a surge in\nthe number of internally displaced persons (IDPs), now totalling more than\n170,000. North-eastern CAR is hosting some 2,660 refugees from Darfur.\n\u003c/font\>\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>Mr. Guterres said improving the security\nof the refugees, IDPs and other civilians in danger and facilitating the\ndelivery of aid will greatly contribute to stabilizing the humanitarian\nsituation in eastern Chad and may encourage the return of displaced persons.\n",1] ); //--></script>

?Debt2Health makes it possible for a country to receive economic relief while its citizens benefit from health services. This type of investment in health promises tremendous benefits for all,? he added.

In April, the Fund?s Board approved a two-year pilot phase for Debt2Health in up to four countries. While Indonesia is the first to have completed a deal, Kenya, Pakistan and Peru are lined up to benefit from this new financing initiative during its pilot phase.