The 49th General Assembly of the Global Fund Board took place from May 8 to 11, 2023 in Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital. Board representatives from Europe, America, Asia and Africa were present to discuss development strategies, commitment of financial resources, performance evaluation, risk management, partnership engagement, resource mobilization and advocacy.
The African delegation was led by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Constituency Bureau (ACB) of the Global Fund, in the presence of administrators from West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa East and Southern Africa. During this international meeting, the African continent had the opportunity to make its voice heard in unity against the fight against different types of scourges, such as tuberculosis, HIV and malaria.
The Chairman of the ACB Board of Directors pleaded in favor of a policy of strengthening local capacities to combat these diseases. He also stressed the importance of the involvement of governments, regional and continental structures such as Africa CDC, with the assistance of the African Union. The possibility of supplying locally produced drugs was also highlighted.
On the sidelines of the session itself, there were preliminary discussions and consultations with other councils and constituency offices around the world. All the boards (Councils), donors and stakeholders of the Global Fund have thus been involved for the common good.
Africa has two seats on the board of the Global Fund, out of the 28 available. The various discussions highlighted the importance of global cooperation in the fight against the most serious diseases that affect millions of people around the world every day.