Merkel urges rich nations to give to Global Fund

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday appealed to about 30 donor countries gathered in Berlin to promise money to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Organisers of the three-day replenishment conference for the Fund expect to raise at least $8 billion for 2008-2010 for projects to fight the three diseases which, they say, claim 6 million lives a year. "I urge everyone here to lay the foundation for a long-term and reliable financing of the Global Fund," Merkel, who is travelling to Africa in early October, told participants. (Reuters)