TEHRAN, Iran - The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) signed recently, in Tehran, a memorandum of understanding to pool their efforts and support activities of 1DB member countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The MOU was signed by the IDB Vice President, Operations Birama Sidibe and Prof. Michel Kazatchkine, Global Fund Executive Director in Tehran, I. R. Iran on the sidelines of the Second Conference of Ministers of Health of the Organization of. Islamic Conference, H. E. Dr. Kamran B. Lankarani Minister of Health and Medical Education, I. R. Iran presided over and graced the signing ceremony attended by the Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the media. The IDB and Global Fund shall focus their cooperation in a phased manner, emphasizing fighting against malaria at an initial phase and depending on the results achieved, subsequent efforts will he directed towards Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. The two institutions will work within the policy framework of their respective organizations to maximize the use of resources available to them to enhance the national response to the diseases in their beneficiary countries in Africa, the East Mediterranean and South East Asia regions. While 1DB will provide some resources and technical assistance for its member countries to prepare sound proposals, the Global Fund will help to facilitate the provisions of support through identifying illegible applicants for funding and grant recipients from within those member countries. Both parties will hold two annual meetings to discuss and agree on a working program in the first meeting and to review progress of implementation in the second. The MOU enables both organizations to expand their respective partnership network. It adds a new. important player to IDB’s growing list of partners active in the health area which includes WHO, UNFPA, the international Drug Purchasing Facility (UNITAID), Roll Back Malaria and the World Bank, to name some. Such MOU also enables the Global Fund to engage a new partner in the Islamic World in the fight against Malaria. IDB has been active in supporting the Health Sector in its member countries since its inception in 1975. A total of 210 health projects at a cost of U’S$ 1.2 billion had been carried out so far. Of late, the IDB started to address malaria as a serious poverty disease hampering development. 1DB is a development Institution, based in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It operates according to the Islamic Shariah. The Global Fund is a Geneva-based financing agency dedicated to mobilizing and distributing additional public and private resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. To date, 46 countries out of 57 member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference benefited of the Global Fund grants. Amongst these member states, 16 are in Middle East/North Africa region, 16 in Africa, 7 in Asia, 5 in Central Asia and Central Europe and 2 in the Caribbean region. There has been a steady and significant increase in approved grants in O1C member states to over US$ 5 billion, 60% of which goes to the fight against Malaria.
