By Milton Olupot

THE Government has been urged to observe discipline with funds it receives from the Global Fund.

The Fund’s Executive Director, Prof. Richard Feachem, was addressing the press at the end of his visit to Uganda on Friday.

The Global Fund committed US$201m to Uganda in a two-year programme and is scheduled to increase the amount to US$370. in the next five years, to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.

Feachem, who led a delegation of four top Fund officials, said, “I have met President Museveni and the Minister of finance and discussed the need for proper management of these funds.

These are expensive programmes that need to be managed well.”

Flanked by health minister Brig. Jim Muhwezi and the Director General of health services, Prof. Francis Omaswa, Feachem said Uganda was among the few African countries that had been successful in combating the spread of AIDS and urged the struggle to be scaled up.

Muhwezi said about US$26m of the funds committed to Uganda were being used to fight TB and for indoor spraying and providing malaria treatment kits to households. He said 6,000 AIDS patients would benefit from free ARVs by the end of November.