Global Fund to resume suspended grants to China

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which "froze disbursements of its AIDS grant to China in November and all other grants in May over suspected misuse of the money and the government's reluctance to involve community groups, ... said Tuesday that it was lifting the freeze on financing to ensure that AIDS work in China continued while it worked with government officials, representatives from United Nations agencies and private groups to resolve the dispute," the Associated Press reports.

"'China and The Global Fund will continue to work closely together to tighten fiduciary controls and ensure that programs are as effective as possible in combatting the three diseases,' [Global Fund spokesperson Jon] Liden said. He said the lifting was effective immediately," the AP notes. "Resolving the problem could mean China will continue to receive payments of $300 million in funding over the next several years for programs to prevent and treat" HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, "unless the recent talks resulted in a reduction of the funding," according to the AP (8/23).