In a flurry of announcements that came just weeks before it called a federal election, the federal government doubled the funding for its domestic HIV/AIDS strategy, doubled its contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and announced a significant contribution to the World Health Organization (WHO) 3 by 5 Initiative. AIDS organizations welcomed the announcements but were critical of the fact that the increased funding for the domestic strategy will take five years to implement. They also criticized the fact that funding for the global initiatives is not new money; it will come out of increases for development assistance previously announced.