IANS

New Delhi, Dec 9: International aid agency Global Fund Tuesday announced a $128.5 million grant for India to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Of the newly approved grants, $69.4 million will be provided for expanding care and treatment services for tuberculosis (TB), particularly for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. India bears 21 percent of the global TB burden and has the highest estimated incidence of multi-drug resistant cases of any country.

The Geneva headquartered organisation said $38.1 million will go to malaria prevention and treatment efforts in the seven states in the northeast region - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.

This includes efforts to achieve near universal coverage of long-lasting insecticide treated nets by 2015 in these areas.

"I am very pleased we are able to support India in its fight against the three diseases," said Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund.

"I hope our collaboration continues and expands, helping India to reach the health-related Millennium Development Goals," he added.

The Global Fund has also separately approved $18.6 million in a first of its kind multi-country HIV grant in South Asia for an initiative targeting gays and the transgender community.