DUSHANBE, September 17, 2009, Asia-Plus — The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has approved an addition 3 year period of funding to assist Tajikistan”s fight against Tuberculosis, press release issued by the Delegation of the European Commission in Tajikistan on September 17 said.
On July 16, 2009, the Global Fund has approved the recommendation of funding to continue supporting the fight against Tuberculosis in Tajikistan. By now, US$ 87.962.078 of commitments have been already approved by the Global Fund in Tajikistan since 2001, out of which a total amount of US$ 30.108.269 have been already disbursed, which demonstrates the steady commitment to Tajikistan.
The European Commission (EC) is a founding member of the Global Fund. From 2002 to 2009, the EC has provided a total contribution of US$ 722.5 million representing the fourth donor to the fund (after the USA, France and Italy). On the same period, the donors of the European Union have pledged more than US$ 6.79 billion (55%).
Tajikistan has the highest TB incidence rate in the European Region. The National TB Centre has limited capacity to fully implement TB control activities at the national level, placing large dependence on outside support. The commitment of the EC to the Health Sector in Tajikistan is part of a comprehensive support strategy the EC and its implementing partners are undertaking in the country.
The new EU Strategy for Central Asia aims to strengthen ties between the European Union and its Central Asian partners. It has doubled European Commission assistance to the region to €750 million for 2007-2013. Tajikistan gets the main share of bilateral assistance (€66 million for 2007-2010) in support to sector programs, technical assistance and grants. It focuses on social protection, health and private sector development, underpinned by public finance management. Projects aimed at enhancing living standards continue. Tajikistan also receives regional and thematic assistance in areas like border management and drug control (BOMCA/CADAP), education (TEMPUS, Erasmus Mundus), water / environment, migration, human rights and democracy (EIDHR), non-State actors (NSA) and SME development (CA-Invest). The total value of EC assistance disbursed to Tajikistan since 1992 is over €500 million.
