The Debt2Health agreement was announced by Stephen Smith, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Dr. R.M Marty M. Natalegawa, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Indonesia has the third highest rate of tuberculosis in the world, with more than 90,000 Indonesians dying from the disease every year. Despite tuberculosis being preventable and curable, the disease is on the rise in Indonesia and many other developing countries.
Under a Debt2Health arrangement, Australia will cancel AUD$75 million of Indonesia's debt. In return, Indonesia will invest half of this amount in national programs to combat tuberculosis through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade said: “This fulfils a commitment Australia made in 2007, and is a further demonstration of Australia’s commitment to working with Indonesia to address development challenges.
"Australia strongly supports this Debt2Health swap with Indonesia and the Global Fund to tackle the challenge of treating and preventing tuberculosis.”
The Indonesian Foreign Minister welcomed the swap as a sign of the good and friendly relations between the two countries.
“The Debt2Health initiative, which we supported from the beginning makes it possible for us to redirect our debt service towards public health,” said Rahmat Waluyanto, Director-General for Debt Management at the Indonesian Ministry of Finance.
Professor Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund, also welcomed the agreement. “In order to reach and sustain the level of funding we need in the fight against the most deadly epidemics of our time, we must make use of innovative financing opportunities like Debt2Health. We are delighted that Australia has joined the initiative and are very grateful for the trust that it shows in our work” said Kazatchkine.
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Indonesia is Australia’s largest development assistance program. Through the Australian Government’s development partnership with Indonesia, both countries are working together to reduce poverty and promote regional peace, stability and prosperity. Australia works with Indonesia to improve education, strengthen health care systems, improve infrastructure and governance, and protect the environment.
In the area of health, Australia is helping Indonesia to strengthen its health systems, improve the health of its women and children, halt the spread of HIV and address infectious diseases and pandemics, including tuberculosis.
http://www.ausaid.gov.au
http://www.ausaid.gov.au
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The Global Fund is a unique global public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases.
Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the dominant financier of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, with approved funding of US$ 19.4 billion for more than 600 programs in 145 countries. To date, programs supported by the Global Fund have saved 5.7 million lives through providing AIDS treatment for 2.8 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 7 million people and the distribution of 122 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria.
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