The Government has announced it is to donate €7.2 million to the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria at an international donors' conference later this week.
The donation will bring to €20 million the amount contributed by the Government to the fund over 18 months.
The Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB was established in January 2002. It originated in a proposal from the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, who called for a new international financing mechanism to mobilise the huge resources necessary to fight infectious diseases in poor countries.
The fund has estimated that its funding needs will be around $3 billion between mid-2003 and the end of 2004. To date it has received $700 million in firm pledges for this period, leaving a shortfall of $2.3 billion.
Ireland has been one of the strongest advocates and supporters of this fund since its inception. It is one of only a small number of countries to have fully honoured its initial pledge of support.