Open Letter: the Global Fund and South Africa’s National Department of Health Must Take Action to Address Treatment Action Campaign’s Funding Crisis

TAC is an influential and effective activist movement known around the world. In South Africa it has helped to save and better millions of people’s lives while deepening democracy and defending and advancing human rights. Today TAC faces a real threat of closure due to a funding crisis that is not of its own making.

A large portion of TAC's work depends on a five year grant from the Global Fund. TAC is one of the sub-recipients of that grant. In July 2011 TAC was scheduled to receive a R6.5 million tranche of funding ($760,000). However, the payment of the tranche to TAC–and all other sub-recipients–continues to be delayed.

This delay is jeopardizing TAC's vital work but it is just the tip of the iceberg–numerous other sub-recipients do vital HIV and tuberculosis work as part of this grant, such as the HIV and tuberculosis literacy series produced for television by Community Media Trust, among many others.

TAC now faces an acute cash flow crisis. Unless the tranche due is paid to TAC by the first week of January, one of the most effective AIDS activist organisations in the world will go into an unsustainable deficit in February 2012. This means TAC would have to retrench all its staff and close offices at the end of January 2012.

All of TAC's essential work–from life saving HIV treatment literacy to groundbreaking litigation in South African courts and much more–is at risk of coming to an abrupt end if the Global Fund does not fulfill its commitments. As a grant-funded organisation TAC cannot afford to run a deficit, despite the fact that through the support of our other donors TAC is otherwise solvent and spending according to agreed budgets and work-plans.

Besides the fact that over 230 activist organisers will lose their income, the closure of TAC would be a setback for South African democracy.

We call on the Director General, South African Department of Health, Ms Precious Matsotso; the Global Fund Executive Director, Prof. Michel Kazatchkine and the Global Fund Director of Country Programs, Mr Mark Edington to urgently finalise the next tranche of funding and ensure all sub-recipients are paid as soon as possible.
 

Sincerely,