Stela Bivol, director at PAS: ”Global Fund has been one of the very successful donors that have shown millions of lives saved and infections averted”

In October 2019, the Global Fund is hosting its Sixth Replenishment Conference in order to raise the funds necessary for continuing to finance HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria prevention and control programs all over the world. The donor says that a minimum of US$14 billion will help save 16 million lives, cut the mortality rate from HIV, TB and malaria in half, and build stronger health systems by 2023.

Eastern Europe and Central Asia region relies heavily on Global Fund financing in order to keep the HIV and TB epidemic in control. Currently, it is the only region in the world where there is still an increasing HIV epidemic and a very high burden of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR TB). 

The Center for Health Policies and Studies (PAS), located in Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova, has been the principal recipient of the Global Fund financing under dual track finance for both HIV and TB grants since 2010. Currently, the organization remains the principal recipient of TB grants in the region and since 2015, it is working on changing the way TB services are delivered in 11 countries from this region.

We spoke to Stela Bivol, director at PAS, to learn more about the progress achieved due to GF support in the EECA region, the current project on TB prevention and control the center is implementing, and the reasons why the Global Fund Replenishment Conference is so important for the region.