The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Wednesday opened a three-day conference in Berlin, Germany, with the goal of raising about $8 billion, the AFP/Google.com reports (AFP/Google.com, 9/26). About 30 donor nations are participating in the conference. The Global Fund says it needs between $12 billion and $18 billion to fund its existing programs and launch new ones between 2008 and 2010, but it hopes to collect up to $8 billion in initial commitments at the conference, according to Global Fund spokesperson Jon Liden (Chambers, Reuters, 9/25).

Germany on Wednesday pledged 600 million euros, or about $850 million, to fight the three diseases from 2008 to 2010. The country also plans to forgive 50 million euros, or about $70 million, of Indonesia's bilateral debt if the Indonesian government puts money into Global Fund programs, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Germany's development minister, said, adding, "This will allow Indonesia to put 25 million euros into urgently required measures to fight AIDS, TB and malaria." The United Kingdom also announced that it would spend one billion pounds, or about $2 billion, to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria through the Global Fund during the next eight years (AFP/Google.com, 9/26).

Some HIV/AIDS advocates criticized the United Kingdom's pledge as being insufficient, the Guardian reports. This pledge is 125 million pounds, or $252 million, and the current pledge is 100 million pounds annually, or $201 million, Steve Cockburn of the Stop AIDS Campaign said. He added that although British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told countries at the United Nations in July "that promises to tackle poverty and disease must not be broken," the United Kingdom has done "exactly that, and sadly the effect will be felt by millions of people affected by AIDS, TB and malaria across the world" (Boseley, Guardian, 9/26). Irish musician and HIV/AIDS advocate Bono in a statement from DATA, his Africa advocacy group, on Tuesday called on donors to scale up their donations "aggressively," adding that there are "no more excuses for underfunding this most high-minded public health mechanism" (AFP/Google.com, 9/25).