The Foreign Service Journal, December 2004

and disbursements, increasing the pace of program starts. The U.S. contributed $1 billion in 2004, while the E.U. has given approxi- mately $500 million. It is estimat- ed that by 2006, total contributions to the Global Fund will exceed $50 billion, and disbursements will top $12 billion. Additionally, as other initiatives, including the President’s HIV/ AIDS Emergency Program, begin to gather steam, coordination will be critical. There is evidence that this need for coor- dination is appreciated: E.U. member-states, along with the U.S. at many levels, have attempted to coor- dinate efforts through the rubric of the New Program for African Development (NEPAD), a pan-African organization attempting to ensure coherent and needs-based decision-making with respect to targeting of development aid. These resources are increasingly being committed without restrictions on their use in the recipient country, providing the flexibility necessary to adapt to changing demands and needs. This commitment of global resources is the only answer to the challenge of infectious disease. The threat to human security is not restricted to individual nations or regions, so the response must be on a similar scale. And while policy-makers will decide the nature of the response, the actual implementation will lie in the hands of individuals who translate policy into action. Those who commit their lives to the bet- terment of the global family — including our diplo- mats and civil servants — are the front-line warriors in that battle. F O C U S D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 29 Those who commit their lives to the betterment of the global family are the front-line warriors in the battle for human security.