[tab: Background]

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) is an international donor organisation that aims to “dramatically increase resources to fight three of the world’s most devastating diseases, and to direct those resources to areas of greatest need.” The Global Fund is the world’s largest financier of anti-AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programmes and at the end of 2010 has approved funding that supports more than 600 programmes in 150 countries.

[tab: The Global Fund Round 10 Grant]

Malaysia was successful with its country proposal for The Global Fund Round 10 that purports to scale up coverage of HIV services for people who inject drugs (PWID) and sex workers (SWs). The proposal, which led to a five-year grant agreement, was the fruit of an arduous long-drawn process involving numerous consultations with stakeholders and grassroots actors led by the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) throughout the year 2010.

This result was very much welcomed by the non-governmental organisation community whose members will be the beneficiaries of the grant. Following the approval of the grant, MAC has been appointed as the Principal Recipient to oversee the programme implementation through fourteen Partner Organisations, which will serve as Sub-Recipients by establishing 27 service delivery sites across Malaysia. A Project Management Unit, based at the MAC, was set up in mid 2011 to facilitate this process.

Core activities of the programme will be geared towards a combination of outreach work and stakeholder sensitisation for both key populations. By the end of the five-year programme, 22,000 PWID and 8,000 SWs will have been reached via these activities.