Can Coke deliver more than fizzy publicity?
If there was an irrefutable argument for global public private partnership, the fight against Aids would surely be it. Unfortunately, rhetoric rather than action is the story of World Aids Day. The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria was set up by G8 governments, big business and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in mid-2001 as a response to the spread of Aids worldwide. The fund only has pledges of $2.1 billion over the next five years. Next year alone it will need $2bn more than has been promised, and a further $5bn in 2004. Mariangela Bavicchi, spokesperson for the fund, is not shy about confronting the resource deficit: ‘We clearly need the money and our stakeholders are well aware of it,’ she said. ‘The G8 set up the fund and should be responsible for supporting us.’ Perhaps the funding gap has something to do with the fact that the acute problems caused by both Aids and globalisation are not seen in rich markets where Aids is being tamed by education and medic
